My Best Friend's Wedding
by MyTwiDreams
Summary: Bella's best friend Rosalie is about to get married to a man she barely knows. As a good friend, Bella's supposed to be happy for her, though. Right? If only there wasn't this feeling deep down in the pit of her stomach. A feeling that the beautiful Blonde is making a huge mistake... /AH/ Femslash/ non-canon pairings/Complete
1. Chapter 1

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to my new story, my dear readers. I've decided to make it a Rosella fic, and hope you're going to enjoy reading it.

The prologue here is dedicated to Leslie for making the pretty cover for me. I adore your skills, hun.

_***Prologue***_

On a rainy Tuesday in November 1987, Charles Swan asked his friend Jasper for a favor. A favor, Charlie was going to regret for the rest of his life.

"Can you cover my shift next Thursday, Jasper?" Charlie had asked taking a hearty gulp from the thermos he was balancing between his knees. The hot drink would help both of the young police officers to make it through this nightshift. Outside the cruiser the icy wind was howling around with a storm that was about to build.

Jasper reached out his hand to turn the heat a bit higher. Even after almost a year in Washington the cold still wasn't something the native Texan could get used to.

At least the people were good people here, he thought. The people of Forks were the hard-working, simple kind of people you would rarely find these days. They had welcomed the Hale family with open arms into their little community.

So, how could Jasper deny his partner Charlie the small favor?

"I know it's Thanks Giving." Charlie stated, taking another gulp from the coffee. "But Renee's parents are coming over and you know how she's like."

Jasper played around on the leather cuff around his left wrist. He was wearing it to cover up a tattoo. It was a youthly sin that didn't quite match with his profession as a police officer.

"You'll do Christmas for me?" Jasper asked after a small pause.

"Sure. Then, it's set. I'll let the boss know you'll be working for me next week. Thank you, man. I owe you big." He handed Jasper the thermos. "Drink up. It looks like you're about to fall asleep any minute."

The blond man took several gulps from the coffee, enjoying the warmth that filled his stomach a moment later. Charlie's wife was a bit too crazy for Jasper's liking but that woman sure knew how to make some decent coffee.

"Lucy wants to move back to Austin. She thinks it's better for Rosie's career or some crap like that."

"Still?" Charlie asked, shifting on the uncomfortable seat in the car. "I thought you've talked her out of this nonsense."

"Working on it, man." Jasper murmured. "I'm still working on it. The kids love it here in Forks." His mouth twitched. "I have no desire to go back."

Charlie and Jasper finished their shift without anything exciting happening. Night shifts in Forks were mostly quiet. The small town was a safe place to live.

Thanks Giving came and Charlie was enjoying a peaceful evening among his family. He had just treated himself to a third piece of pie when the phone rang. His boss, Chief Martin was so agitated, his voice shaking to a point where it was difficult to understand.

"He's dead. He's dead." The officer called out again and again, barely able to grasp the situation. "I can't believe the boy is dead. Shot in the head like a goddamn dog."

Twenty minutes later, when Charlie was standing next to the grey-haired officer, he had trouble to hold back his emotions.

There was blood all over the floor inside the empty warehouse. Charlie saw a red trail from a broken window over to the door at the other side of the room.

"This is where we found him." Chief Martin stated, pointing to the lifeless body on the floor. They had already covered it up with a grey plastic foil. The blond curls that were sticking up at the top were red with dried blood.

Charlie felt his stomach churn and swallowed back a bit of bile. "What happened?" he asked, kneeling down next to his dead partner.

"The janitor of the building called the station. He lives next door and got alarmed when he heard someone breaking into the window."

The chief of police sighed, leaning back against the wall behind him. "We've found a footprint and a pearl ear-ring."

With shaking hands Charlie reached for the already cold hand of his partner. If only he hadn't asked him to cover the shift tonight. The guilt was eating Charlie up deep from the inside. Jasper was the same age than he. How was he supposed to tell Lucy her husband was dead? Jasper was dead because the young officer had obviously gotten in the way of some random burglars.

"I'll find your killer." Charlie vowed, clasping Jasper's hand tightly. "I promise that I'll find the bastard."

A week later the entire community of Forks was gathered together for the funeral. Everybody was whispering. They were unable to believe the horror. Forks was not a big city with a lot of crimes happening. Some of the elder ones had even been joking that they should abolish the police in town altogether. It was a terrible waste of money in their eyes.

Now, everyone was fearful. The murder on young officer Hale was the first capital crime in the city in over thirty years. Chief Martin had gotten so overwhelmed with the situation he'd decided to retire early. Now, Charles Swan had taken over the job as Sheriff. He was determined to find Hale's murderer as soon as possible.

The funeral was held inside the town hall. Flower bouquets decorated the closed coffin. Charlie had insisted on a closed casket ceremony. There was no need to agitate the poor widow even more than she already was. Lucy had gotten a nervous breakdown when Charlie had brought the fatal news home to her.

Now, the tall woman was sitting in the first row, her red eyes hidden beneath huge sunglasses. Next to her were her sons. Mrs. Hale was grasping the hand of ten-year-old Emmett so tightly it must be hurting the boy. He was quiet today. His mouth not curled into the usual cheerful grin.

Emmett was old enough to grasp the situation more than his younger siblings. Their father was dead. He was dead because someone had killed him. Dying in the line of duty made Jasper Hale a hero. But it made him dead nonetheless.

Jasper Junior, a chubby four-year-old tugged on the sleeve of his black shirt. It was too big on him. The seat next to him was empty. Only a Barbie doll was lying carelessly forgotten on the pillow.

"Emmett, where's your sister again?" Lucy asked, cleaning her nose loudly. She felt like she had no more tears left to cry. Twenty-seven was definitely too young to be a widow. It was too young to be left alone to care for three little kids.

If only they'd never left Austin, if only…

Lucy's eyes moved over to where Charles Swan was sitting with his wife. In a dark suit the man looked as if he was uncomfortable to being dressed up.

Sheriff Swan. My husband dies and Swan gets a promotion, Lucy thought with bitterness. How is this world any fair?

In a small room, next to that where the funeral service was about to take place in a few minutes, a little blonde girl was hiding underneath a table. She was scared. Not because of the amount of people who were present. Rosalie was used to having a crowd staring at her when she was on stage. Nobody was going to give her a tiara at the end of this day. The girl was sure about it.

Today was a bad day. Rosalie's mother had cried the entire morning before she had forced her daughter to put on a new black dress. It was itchy and too tight around her arms. Rosalie hated wearing it.

She didn't want to be there at all. Why couldn't she just make herself invisible? What she really wanted though was her father to come down the stairs in their house and tell her mother to stop dressing the girl up like a doll. He knew how much Rosalie hated that.

Her little heart cramped inside her chest. She had been cross with her Dad because he had to work on Thanks Giving. She hadn't even told him goodbye. She was mad at him, because him working had ruined her plans of helping him work on the rusty Mustang in the garage. Now, her Mom would probably sell it off soon. The thought made Rosalie sadder than she already was.

"What are you doing here?" a light voice startled Rosalie in her hideaway under the table. Hesitantly, Rosalie raised her head, finding herself looking into a wide, toothless smile.

No one had smiled at Rosalie like this in the last time. A lot of sad-looking people had come to her house and petted her head, telling her what a good man Rosalie's Daddy had been. She didn't know what to respond to them. She couldn't even cry. Everything was too much for a eight-year-old to deal with.

"What are you doing here?" the brown-haired girl asked again, plopping down on her backside. Rosalie had seen her in school before but never spoken to her because she was a class below her. That basically made her a stupid baby. Didn't it?

"Hiding," Rosalie whispered, pulling her knees to her chest. "I'm hiding."

"Can I hide with you?" the smaller girl asked, moving a bit closer to Rosalie. "I'm Bella."

She smiled again and pulled a package of Oreo cookies out of her pocket. "Want some?"

Rosalie shook her head. "My Mommy doesn't allow me to eat candy. She'll be angry."

Bella opened the package, biting off half of a cookie. "Here. We can share one, if you want to."

After hesitating for a minute, Rosalie took the other half of the cookie and stuffed it quickly between her lips. If she only had half a cookie, her mother could only be half angry at her.

"It's mean that your Mom doesn't allow you to eat candy." Bella mumbled with a full mouth. "My parents let me eat whatever I want."

"My Daddy too," Rosalie told her, licking a few cookie crumbles from her fingers. "But he's dead."

"I know," Bella said. "My Dad told me. Your Daddy is a hero now. All heroes go to heaven. Did you know that?"

Rosalie cleared her throat. "No, I didn't know that. Can we share the second cookie too?" she asked. Bella nodded her head and smiled. "Of course, we can. You and I are friends now, right?"


	2. Chapter 2

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thank you for the great response for the prologue. It's great that so many of you love the idea of a Bella and Rosalie pairing. Let's see how you like the first real chapter. Shall we?

This one here is dedicated to **Gmac62**, for being the first reviewer and to **jm1708** for giving me a hug when I needed it.

_****1****_

Bella Swan hated working nightshifts. She had always been more of a morning person. Yawning, she clasped the can of diet coke between her hands and lifted it up to drink. Caffeine was exactly what she needed right now to stay awake. Still, four more hours to go, she thought with a sigh after checking the time above the car radio.

Maybe nightshifts wouldn't be so tiresome if something would actually happen. Something that would make the young cop aware, she wasn't wasting her time by guarding an empty street for the whole night. The last car, Bella had seen, had passed her by over two hours ago. No one was out at such a late time in Forks.

She sighed. This was exactly why she had hesitated to move back into her hometown. Working as a police officer in Forks meant tons of endless hours with pointless observation or handing out traffic tickets. At least she hadn't been called to a deadly accident yet. Letting poor parents know that their son or daughter would most likely never walk again after a bike crush was nothing Bella was looking forward to do.

It's just for a year, the young woman reminded herself. Just for a year, maybe two and then you can finish your degree and get the job you really want.

"Fucking nightshift." She hissed, angrily reminding herself how she had managed to get so many of them. It had been her own fault, she admitted.

"I want you to treat me like you would anyone else." Bella's own voice echoed in her head. "I don't want special treatment—ever." She had told her father on the first day she had showed up at the police department in her brand new uniform.

Charlie had looked up from his desk, the dark hairs of his moustache twitching into a grin he could barely hold back. "Like everyone else? You want me to treat you like any other newby?"

Bella had nodded her head eagerly. "Yes, Sir, that's what I want."

For a few moments Chief Swan had flipped through the pile of paperwork in front of him, pretending to ignore the young woman in front of him. Then, he had cleared his throat.

"Like anyone else? Well, congratulations, Deputy Swan, you've just won yourself an entire month of nightshift. I hope those make you feel very much treated like everyone else."

After finishing tonight's shift, Bella made her way home to her father's house. It made her feel awkward to live there again. It was like being a child again somehow. But living with Charlie meant lots of rent she was saving herself. Plus a free babysitter on top of it.

Like every morning when she returned from her nightshifts, Charlie was already up in the kitchen. He never went to the station himself before making sure his daughter had returned home safely.

"Good Morning, Dad." She greeted him. "Morning, sweetie." Bella bend forward to plant a kiss on her six-year-old daughter's cheek. At least the kid had taken their move to Forks well. She loved having her grandfather around so much.

"Hi Mommy," the girl mumbled with a full mouth. "Grandpa and I are having Cocoa Puffs for breakfast. Do you want some too?"

Bella shook her head. "I'm not hungry right now." She turned to her father. "Dad, why are you allowing her to eat this sugary stuff again?"

Charlie shrugged his shoulders. "Cause she likes it? I always let you eat what you liked as a kid. Hasn't done any harm, has it?"

He didn't see how Bella rolled her eyes behind his back when she turned to the sink that was filled with dirty dishes. She would do them later. Right now, she was too tired.

"Did you finish your homework?" Bella asked, sitting down next to her little daughter.

The girl nodded her head. "Grandpa helped me."

"That's good. Do you want me to look over it too?"

"Do you doubt my academic skills?" Charlie said, standing up to place his bowl into the sink to the rest of the dishes. "I'll be off now. Do you want me to drive Resha to school?"

"Yes!" the girl called out. "Can we turn the lights on today?"

Charlie laughed. "Only if grandpa finds someone he can hand out a ticket to on the way to your school. Now, go upstairs and get your backpack."

"Brush your teeth!" Bella called after her. "And don't run inside the house. You're going to fall down and hurt your knee again."

"You're too strict to her." Charlie stated, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Give the kid a rest. Your split-up from her asshole of a father was bad enough for the girl."

Bella cringed. Being reminded of her ex wasn't her favorite thing on earth. It had been a mistake. The whole relationship had been a mistake and it had taken her way too long to acknowledge that. For a moment Bella wondered if she had ever truly been in love with her daughter's father.

"It's hard for children when their parents split up. I remember how you were like when your mother left."

Bella's mouth twitched. She hated discussing Renee with her father. It was like she was always sitting between chairs when it came to that.

"Resha's a smart girl. She'll be alright. By the way, did _he_ call again?"

"Nope." Bella's father answered monosyllabic. After hesitating for a moment, he said. "Maybe I should give him a call instead? I would really like to have a nice long talk with him. What kind of low-life doesn't pay child support for his only kid?"

Instead of answering Charlie, Bella just shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay. I don't want or need anything from him."

"It sure as hell is not okay, Bella. Oh, before I forgot it. Rosalie called, twice. I told her you are working and would call back."

He planted a kiss on Bella's head and walked out. A minute later she could hear the engine of her father's cruiser roaring to live. It sounded odd. Maybe Rosalie could have a look at it when she came to visit Forks the next time.

Bella yawned. She was so sleepy now that she could barely keep her eyes open anymore. Let's go and catch some sleep, she told herself. Upstairs she hopped under the shower, knowing that the hot water would help her to relax more and sleep better.

Downstairs, the phone was ringing, when she was just about to wrap a towel around her dripping hair.

"Coming!" she called out, rushing down the stairs, taking two at a time. I'm really a bad role model for the little one, she thought, grabbing the receiver before the machine would pick up.

"Swan," she said, hoping it wasn't her ex-boyfriend on the other line. She wasn't in the mood to talk to him now.

"Did I wake you up?" her best friend's voice greeted her, sounding concerned. "Charlie told me you're on nightshift. I didn't wake you up. Did I?"

"Had a shower, but I'm going to crash now. How are you, Beautiful? It's been forever since we talked."

Bella opened the fridge to look for something cold to drink. "God, I miss having you just a five minute drive away."

"Then you should have stayed in Seattle like I told you to. Now, tell me, how bad is it like having your Dad as your boss?"

"It's fucking fantastic." Bella said. She took the milk out and pulled a glass from the cupboards. When Bella lifted the milk to her mouth, she realized it had turned bad. Quickly she went over to the sink and spit it out again.

"Bella, are still there?"

"Yes. Sure, I'm here. Have you ever tasted sour milk? It's disgusting."

Rosalie coughed. "I can imagine that. Look, I know you must be tired but I just couldn't wait any longer to tell you the news."

Filling her glass with tap water, Bella asked Rosalie what the big news was.

"I met someone." Bella's best friend told her cheerfully.

Well, that's nothing too surprising, Bella thought. She had gotten used to having her best friend fall in and out of love again and again. Long term relationships weren't anything for Rose it seemed.

"Really?" Bella said, faking some enthusiasm. "That's fantastic."

"It is, Bella, honey, it is. He's so special." She giggled. "He's different than the others."

"What do you mean, he's different?" Bella asked, taking a gulp from the water.

For a moment the line was silent. Then, Rosalie spoke up again. "Promise not to be judging, will you?"

"Never," Bella grabbed an apple from the basket on the counter and bit into it.

"Well, he's a bit older."

"How old does a bit older mean? Like grandpa-ish old?"

Rosalie laughed. "He's fourty-two."

"Jeez, that's only five years younger than Charlie. Rose, that's gross."

"Bella! Please, you promised not to be judging. I really care for him."

Bella sighed, swallowing another mouthful of sweet apple. She knew she needed to be supportive. Even, if she didn't approve of her friend dating someone, who was old enough to be her dad.

"I'm sure, he's a great guy. Where did you two meet?"

"At work. Oh, Bella, he says, it was love at first sight. You know how I never give my phone number out to clients? He was so persistent. That impressed me."

"Great," Bella murmured, chewing the apple loudly. "You must bring him with you when you visit the next time."

Until her next visit to Forks in a few weeks, everything would already be over again. Bella was sure about that. It was always like this with Rosalie. She was always head over heels for whatever kind of guy she was currently dating. Soon, though, she would break up with them again.

As soon as Rosalie realized that her Prince Charming was more of a frog. Who was only interested in having a pretty face on his arm to show off, she was out. Years of years of only being reduced to her looks had made the young Blonde a bit sensitive to that kind of behavior.

"There is more." Rose breathed into the receiver. "As my friend you are supposed to be happy for me."

"I'm always happy for you, Beautiful." Bella whispered, leaning back against the counter behind her. "Tell me."

"He proposed to me. I'm going to get married. Isn't that incredible?"

Bella dropped the phone. Quickly she kneeled down on the ground to pick it up again. Getting married? What kind of a stupid idea was this now? How long could she possibly know the guy? A month?

"Bella, are you still with me?"

"Yes, sure, I'm here." Bella mumbled. "Congratulation, Rose."

"See, I knew you'd be happy for me. Mom is thrilled too. She is organizing everything and won't let me decide a single thing myself."

"Lucy loves planning way ahead. Let her have some fun."

"This is my wedding and not my mother's." Rose stated sullenly. "I have been dreaming about it since I was a little girl."

Bella frowned. Why did everyone dream about getting married? Marriage was nothing but a worthless sheet of paper in her opinion. She had seen that with her parents.

"I'm sorry." Rosalie said, noticing that Bella hadn't said anything for a while. "I keep talking and talking while you must be so tired. Just call me again when you wake up. Yes? Love you!"

"Love you more." Bella whispered, but Rosalie had already disconnected the call. Getting married…It looked like Rose was serious this time.

Bella's eyes moved to the picture of Rosalie and her that was pinned on the refrigerator with a bright blue magnet. Even back then, Rose had been the prettiest girl she had known. Even without the tons of hairspray and make-up, Lucy loved to use to pretty her daughter up.

"You're going to be a beautiful bride, my Rose, Bella thought before she went upstairs again to finally get some much needed sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to a brand new update for my little Rosella fic. It makes me so happy to have supportive readers like you by my side.

_FAQ's_

_How old are Bella & Rose?_

Bella is twenty-five and Rosalie is twenty-six years old.

_Who is Bella's ex-boyfriend? Who is Rosalie's fiancé?_

I love all your theories and can't wait for your reaction once you'll figure it out.

I hope all of you will like today's update and to my readers from the US – Happy Fourth of July to you!

The chapter here is dedicated to my readers **Lunaris-wind** and **HomebyTwilight**.

_****2****_

"She's pregnant." Charlie said, taking a thirsty gulp from his beer. "I bet Rose's pregnant."

Bella shrugged her shoulders and added a bit of broccoli to the mashed potatoes on her daughter's plate. The girl frowned and pushed the unloved vegetable around with her fork.

"Eat." Bella demanded. "And don't frown like this. I can't stand that."

Resha cleared her throat. "Grandpa, do you want to eat my broccoli? Pllleeaase?"

"Dad, don't you dare. She needs to eat something healthy. Broccoli is full of Calcium. It's important for your bones, sweetie."

"I hate broccoli. It's yucky."

"Resha, eat up." Bella said again, her voice coming out stricter than she wanted it to. She was in a bad mood this afternoon. Her head was hurting and she was worried about her best friend's upcoming wedding. Was Rose really pregnant? It made sense because her best friend was completely crazy about babies. But rushing into a marriage with someone just because of a baby? This was not the nineteenth century anymore.

"Just eat a bit of the broccoli, sweetie." Charlie suggested. "If you do, we'll have ice-cream for dessert."

The girl looked down at the green vegetables in front of her. Then, she picked up some of it on her fork and lifted it to her lips. Her little mouth turned into a grimace when she chewed it slowly.

"See, it's not that bad." Bella stated. "Veggies are good for you."

Resha swallowed, gulping down the disgusting broccoli with a glass of apple juice. "Daddy wouldn't make me eat food I hate."

Bella flinched. She stacked Charlie's empty plate on her own and went over to the sink. Resha mentioning her father made Bella feel bad. There was this horrible, painful feeling deep down in her guts. Maybe she should have tried harder. Maybe if she had just—

Her inner doubts were interrupted when the phone started ringing. Charlie picked up the phone, clearing his throat. "Chief Swan."

He mumbled a few, yes…that's great…fantastic…into the receiver. Finally he ended the call with. "I'll be right at the police department in ten minutes. See you, bye!"

Charlie stood up from his chair. "That was the IT guy. They're installing the new computer program at the station. Isn't that great? No more old-fashioned file searching in dusty boxes."

His daughter nodded her head. The police department in Forks wasn't very well equipped. She liked the fact that Charlie was investing in some innovations now. Her enthusiasm was lowered with Charlie's next sentence though.

"We need to get all the old paper files into the computer. From tomorrow on, you'll be spending your days scanning and typing up records."

Bella took a deep breathe. "That's work for a sectary."

"Do I have one? No. So, one of the deputies has to do the job. I trust you know the alphabet. Do you?"

"Yes, Sir, no problem, Sir." She mumbled, filling the sink with hot water. Working and living together with her father was pulling on her nerves. Soon she would snap. It was only a matter of time.

Charlie left, leaving Bella and little Resha alone in the kitchen. "I can't eat any more broccoli, Mommy." The girl whined.

"It's okay. Bring me your plate, sweetie."

She threw the rest of the food into the trash and started rinsing the dishes in the sink. They needed to buy a dishwasher. Doing dishes by hand was something Bella hated to do.

"I miss Daddy."

Bella dropped the plate she was holding back into the water. A bit of it splashed over her shirt. She wiped her hands on a dishtowel and kneeled down in front of Resha.

"I know, honey. Mommy is sorry."

She leaned forward and kissed her daughter's cheek. "He's going to come here and visit you soon." She promised, knowing the words were a lie. Her ex's interest was with his new girlfriend now. That much Bella was sure about.

"Why don't you help Mommy with the dishes? When we are finished you'll get some ice-cream and I let you watch some TV."

A few minutes later when Bella had parked the girl with a bowl of chocolate ice-cream in front of the new flat screen in the living room she went upstairs. Her left fist connected with the sandbag she had hung up in the attic. A bit of boxing would help her to get off some steam.

Left

Right

Left

Left

Right

Right

Again and again she hit against the bag, feeling the sweat pouring down her forehead after a while. She lifted her foot and kicked the sandbag with as much force as she could.

Out of breath, Bella eventually sank down to her knees, gasping for air. Her fitness level was shitty. No wonder it was shitty if all she did was sitting around in the cruiser every night. This was not why she had decided to go to the police academy.

Grabbing a towel that was lying on the floor next to her, she wiped the sweat from her face. Get your grip together, Swan, she commanded herself. This job here is nothing permanent. Remember your goals. You need to fight for them.

"Mommy!" Resha called from downstairs. "Rose is on the phone!"

Bella put the towel over her shoulders and rushed down the stairs. "Hey, Rose."

"Hi, Bella, you sound stressed. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Bella answered, walking over to the kitchen where she poured herself a glass of water. "How's the bride-to-be?"

"I had to try ten different fillings for wedding cake with Mom. She wants peanut-butter caramel. I want dark chocolate."

"I like chocolate." Bella stated. "Peanut butter is always a risk. When one of your guests turns out to be allergic, you'll end up calling an ambulance."

Rosalie giggled. "That's a great reason. I have to write it down. Not that we would actually need an ambulance with a doctor present."

Leaning back against the wall, Bella closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. "Honey, are you sure that you want to get married? I mean it's so soon."

"I thought you are happy for me?"

Bella sighed. "Of course, I'm happy for you. I love you. It's just that it want to make sure what you're getting yourself into."

For a moment Rosalie was very quiet. "You sound like Jazz. He made some stupid comments when I told him the news."

"What did he say?"

"That I have a father complex. Isn't that some bullshit? I don't have any complexes." Rosalie told Bella disgusted.

"I know, Beautiful."

"Thank you. I love you way more than my brothers."

"They are just watching out for you because they care. Look, there's something I wanted to ask you." Bella started hesitantly. Maybe it would be better to wait until Rosalie would announce the pregnancy herself. Yes, that would be better, Bella decided.

"About what?" Rose asked, chewing something in the background. "God, I hate carrots. But I need to lose four pounds until the wedding."

"Why? Your figure is lovely the way it is." Bella had always found that Rosalie had the perfect hourglass shape. She remembered how her best friend had already developed a gracious c-cup breast at the tender age of fourteen while she herself had been flat-chested like a boy back then.

For a moment Bella thought about how soft Rosalie's breasts had felt like in her hands when she had touched them. Still after all those years, she remembered the smoothness of the skin. Again and again, Bella had to remind herself that it had meant nothing. Rosalie had insisted that the innocent touching each other was nothing but a proof how much they trusted each other. The memory though sent tingles deep down the brunette woman's stomach.

"You are pretty the way you are. Diets are bullshit."

"I know, Bella. But I won't fit into Mom's dress if I don't lose a couple of pounds. God, she was so skinny before she had Emmett. It's amazing."

Bella lifted the water to her mouth and emptied the glass in one big gulp. "If I were in Seattle we could go for a run together every day."

Rosalie sighed. "See, I told you not to leave. If you ask me, it is Asshole that should have left town instead of you."

"It's a bit complicated." Bella mumbled. "You know why."

"I saw them, you know, Asshole and his Russian slut when I went grocery shopping. I felt tempted to let my shopping card roll against her car."

"Don't do anything like that." Bella pleaded. "It's just not worth it. And please, stop calling her a slut. He and I broke up before they got together."

"Slut is still a slut. Look, I just called because I wanted to let you know I'm coming to Forks tomorrow. Can I sleep at your place?"

"Sure. But you need to share a room with me. The little one has turned the guestroom into Barbie-land."

Rosalie laughed. "It's okay. I don't mind sharing a bed with you. See you tomorrow. Love you!"

"Love you more." Bella murmured, disconnecting the call. She filled her glass again and went to the living room.

"Rose is coming here tomorrow, sweetie. Isn't that great?"

Resha nodded her head before she turned her attention back to the TV screen. Her arms cuddled the pillow she was holding on her lap a bit tighter. "Rapunzel's hair is so pretty."

"Yes, sweetie, it looks nice. Do you want the Rapunzel Barbie for your birthday?"

"Maybe." The girl whispered. "But I rather want to have hair like her. Mine is frizzy and ugly."

Bella kissed her daughter's curly head. "No, it's not. Come on. Turn off the TV. We need to do some grocery shopping for tomorrow."

A couple hours later Bella was sitting in her cruiser, trying to get her last night shift over as good as possible. She flipped through a pile of records she had taken with her from the station. What a chaos, she thought. Her mouth twitched into a grin when she saw an old file that stated how Mrs. Cope her former school teacher had been caught drunk and bare-breasted in front of Fork's lingerie store, protesting soulful for the rights of feminism.

"Deputy Swan." The voice of the police radio cracked through the silence. "There's an empty car at the side of the road, just outside of town."

"I'll be right there." Bella said, turning on the engine. It didn't take her long to find the car. The old thing looked like it was just being held together by rust. Rosalie would have loved to get her hands on something like that.

"Hello? This is the police." Bella called into the darkness, while she pointed her flashlight towards the trees behind the car. "Is anyone there?"

Someone groaned loudly. Bella's right hand moved to the gun on her belt. "Come out! Slow."

Holding up the flashlight a bit higher, it blended a lean guy with a horrified expression on his young face. "Don't s-s-shoot."

Bella cleared her throat. "Hands up and come closer here where I can see you better."

The boy stuttered. "We c-c-can't."

"That was an order. Why are you out this late anyway? It's past midnight."

"M-m-my boyfriend a-a-and I we came here together." The poor boy stuttered while he walked around the bush. It was then that Bella realized he was naked. Behind him a second boy was just about to push some jeans back up. He was over two heads taller than Bella but that didn't impress the young officer too much.

"Hands up where I can see them. And you…cover yourself up or better get dressed. What the hell are you thinking you are doing here? Is this a joke?"

Stutter guy grabbed some sweatpants and pulled them up so quickly he lost his balance and landed flat on his face on the hard forest ground. "C-c-crap. Oh, Jake, what are we doing now? She's not going to call our p-p-parents, is she? Damn, Mom's going to freak."

"Shut up, Seth. Just shut the fuck up."

"You both shut up now!" Bella yelled. "What were you doing out here in the middle of the night?"

"Ma'am, stop please stop yelling." Jake said. "We haven't done any harm. We didn't even build a fire although it's shitty cold tonight."

Bella could feel herself beginning to shiver. The night was really icy. "I'm sorry for raising my voice. Did your car break down? You could have called someone."

"The rabbit is fine. Seth and I just wanted to be alone. We can never be alone because our parents can't know we're together."

The young officer nodded her head. "I understand. But still, you can't go out in the woods at night. Now, tell me where you live and I'll drive you home."


	4. Chapter 4

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N]

The chapter below is dedicated to my readers **Bellice Fan** and **Parkourgirl2121**. I hope you'll like today's update

****3****

You are way too softhearted. Bella reproached herself as she pulled her car over in the school parking lot of Fork's High school. Next to her on the passenger's seat, wrapped in a plastic bag, was an almost new Samsung cell phone. The young officer knew that she had made a mistake last night. The instructions for Minors you caught in the middle of the night were clear. Bring them safely back to their parents. Tell the parents to watch the kids better and be over with it.

However, yesterday when she was wanted to drive Jake and Seth down to the Rez, she let the boys lull her in. She felt bad for them. Their parents sounded like some homophobic assholes. Bella disliked people like that more than anything. Seth's mother had gone so far to take her son out of School and sending him to Fork's High school instead of letting him attend the school in La Push.

So, instead of doing what Bella was instructed to do, she allowed the boys to drive back to the Reservation in Jake's car, following behind them.

It wasn't until she was back at the station in the morning, when she discovered the black cell with the initials S. on the side, in the backseat of the cruiser.

You are fucking stupid, Swan, Bella cursed. This is what you do now? Helping Minors to get their shitty cells back?

She stepped out of the car, closing the door with a bit more force than necessary. Her head was hurting again. Today she hadn't gotten much sleep. At least Rosalie was going to come here later. That was something positive to look forward to. Bella would make Lasagna. Rose loved eating her Lasagna and always claimed it was her favorite food on earth.

"Ma'am, can I help you?" a grey-haired woman asked Bella on her way down to the school secretary's office.

"Maybe you can. I'm looking for a Seth Clearwater."

The woman pushed her glasses a bit higher on her nose. "What did he do?"

Bella smiled politely. "Police records are confidential. I'm sure you understand this."

"Of course, Officer, of course, I shouldn't have asked. It's just…Seth is a really good student. I'm sure whatever trouble he is in will—"

"He's not in trouble." Bella cut her off. "Now, if you could tell me where to find Seth? My time is limited."

"Sure, Ma'am, he's in the Gym. Just follow the yelling and the cries." The woman stated before she turned around and walked off.

Bella wrinkled her nose when she opened the door to the Gym a few minutes later. The stench of old sweat, magnesium powder and bad air was exactly like she remembered it.

Back at school, doing sports hadn't been Bella's favorite thing to do. Her hand-eye-coordination was crappy. It had taken her forever to overcome her clumsiness. Today she loved kick-boxing and running. It helped her to burn off some steam. Why she was so angry often, Bella didn't even know it. Maybe it was because she had swallowed too much in her past.

_You want to be a FBI agent? Is that supposed to be a joke, chérie?_

Asshole's words echoed in her head. She should have left him right then and there. If they didn't have the child together, Bella would have turned her back on him a long time ago. Why should you be with someone that didn't support your dreams?

"MOVE. YOUR. ASSES!" the voice coming from the other side of the gym roared through the hall. "I know some little girls who are faster than you! Are you men or pussies? RUN!"

Bella could hear a lot of cursing and hectic breathing as she walked over to the tall man, standing leaned against a pile of gym mats. He put the plastic whistle he was carrying around his neck to his lips and blew it. The noise was so shrill and loud, it was hurting Bella's ear.

"Are you trying to make them deaf?"

The man grinned and wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead. "You are the police now? Crap, this town is really going downhill."

"Stop being a jerk, Hale. I hate that."

He laughed and pulled her into a hug. "Hey, Bella, it's good to see you."

"How's the teaching job going, Emmett?" she asked him curiously. Emmett Hale as a teacher was the most awkward thing she could imagine. His fucked-up shoulder had ruined his Football career irrevocably though. Sometimes life was just so unfair.

"I'm known as Coach Heartless to them." Emmett mumbled. Then he looked up and yelled. "Did I tell you to stop running? Get your ass up, Clearwater! Two more rounds! MOVE!"

"Why are you yelling at them?"

"Because I want them to take me serious, that's why. God, I hate this job." He told Bella, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Did my sister send you here?"

"Rose? Why would she do that?"

He sighed. "She was pretty furious at me when we spoke on the phone last night. Someone needs to tell her the truth, even if she doesn't want to hear it."

"What truth?"

"This marriage thing is bullshit. She's doing that to please Mom. It's like those stupid beauty tra-la-la's she did as a child. I know how much she hated them."

Bella nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment. "Rosalie says she loves him. If marrying him is what makes her happy, we need to support her."

Emmett shrugged his shoulders. "I'll start saving up some money for her divorce. Why are you here, if not for Rose?"

She sighed and explained to him that she had found Seth's cell and wanted to bring it back.

"I'll give it to him." Emmett promised. "He's not in trouble, is he?"

Bella shook her head. "No, he's not. Look, I have to leave now. I'm supposed to pick up your sister from the airport."

xxxx

Rosalie smiled at her reflection in the mirror above the sink. Her fingertips grazed the outline of the delicate pearl-earrings her fiancé had given to her in the morning.

"Something pretty for the prettiest." He had said, kissing her neck very lightly. How could you not love a man who showered you with attention like this?

The tall blonde pulled a brush out of her handbag and brushed through her shiny long hair. She would have loved to cut it off but never had the courage to actually do it. Her hair was part of her beauty and her beauty was what others valued her in her. Nobody had ever cared what she was like from the inside. Behind the pretty façade was something only a few people had dared to look at. The only one who truly knew her was her best friend, Bella. Even she didn't know everything. Neither did the man, she was supposed to marry in a month.

_Smile, sweetheart, always smile, like you mean it._ The memory of her mother's countless admonishments made Rosalie's mouth twitch into a forced grimace.

After applying a fresh layer of lip balm, she walked out of the bathroom in the airport. Her best friend was already waiting for her with two huge Starbucks coffees in her hands.

"You're a life saver." Rose called out, wrapping her right arm around the brunette. "I'm dying for some coffee."

She took the cup, Bella handed her and took a big gulp. It was sweet and hot. Good coffee was something you didn't get on a plane.

"Good to see you, Beautiful." Bella said, feeling heat stream into her cheek when Rosalie pressed her lips against it for a moment. She was always so affective. It was something that Bella disliked greatly in others than her best friend.

"You look tired." Rosalie told her after looking her over. "This nightshift thing is not doing well with you."

"Well, it's part of my job. Did I tell you that I'm supposed to scan old files from now on? Seriously, it's like I'm a fucking secretary."

Rosalie looped her arm through Bella's. "Don't be frustrated. It's just for a little while, right?"

Bella nodded her head. Arm in arm they walked out to the parking lot. "I'm going to make Lasagna tonight."

"You are a heartless woman. How can you cook my favorite dish when I'm on a diet?"

"I can make some salad to go with it."

Rosalie laughed. "Who would eat salad if you can have Swan's to-die-for lasagna?"

"To-die-for?"

"Well, it's pretty good. I missed your food almost as much as I missed you." Rosalie said, planted another kiss on Bella's cheek.

During the ride back to Forks Rosalie chattered happily about her upcoming wedding. "It's going to be amazing." She told Bella. "We're going to have this gigantic ice-sculpture and then—,"

"Rose, breathe, there is no need for trying to impress me with your wedding."

"But I want everything to be perfect. Aren't you happy for me? Is it because of your ex?"

Bella grabbed the steering wheel a bit tighter. "No, it's not. Why are you mentioning him anyway?"

"I thought maybe you are sad because the two of you never tied the knot."

The blonde placed her hand on Bella's knee. "You'll find your Mr. Right. He's out there, I just know, he is."

Bella smiled and stepped on the breaks in front of a stop sign. "Maybe, yes. Maybe, no. I don't even care."

"Don't say that." Rosalie pleaded. "No every man is like Asshole. There are some really good ones out there. Caring, gracious men…"

She pulled her hair behind her ear and exposed the pearl-earring to Bella.

"Pretty."

"Right, isn't it? Carlisle gave them to me before I left. I love how he's so good with these little surprises."

After parking the car, Bella helped Rosalie to lift her suitcase out of the trunk. How many clothes could a single person need for a three day trip?

"Rosie!" little Resha called out, storming towards the woman. "Oh Rosie, I missed you so much, so much!"

Rosalie lifted her up, swirling the girl around until she squeaked. "Jeez, you're heavy. What has your mother been feeding you?"

"Yucky broccoli." Resha said, wrinkling her nose. "But today we're going to have lasagna. Won't we, Mommy?"

An hour later, when the girls and Charlie were sitting around the table in the Swan's kitchen, the delicious aroma of basil and fresh tomatoes made their mouths water.

"You need to be careful." Bella said. "It's still pretty hot."

"It smells good, kiddo." Charlie mumbled. Then he turned his attention to Rosalie. "Now, who's that dude you are getting married to?"

Resha slurped on her ice-tea through a straw. "Is he a prince?"

The beautiful blonde giggled. "No, he's not. Carlisle is a doctor. Isn't that just great?"

"But I want you to marry a prince." Resha protested. "Then you would get to live in a castle and I could come and visit you."

Rosalie gave Resha's hand a light tug. "You and Bella can come and visit me in my new house. It's beautiful, even if it's not a castle."

Charlie nipped on his beer. "So, a doctor it is? All doctors I knew are morons. When your brother hurt his shoulder—"

"Don't mention Emmett." Rosalie interrupted Chief Swan. "I'm still mad at him."

"Why?" Charlie asked, taking another gulp from his beer. "Is something wrong?"

Rosalie dipped her fork into the lasagna on her plate. "He's just being a jerk. That's all. Charlie, there is something I want to ask you."

"About what?"

She cleared her throat. "It's about my wedding."

Charlie snored. "Yes, yes and yes. I'm going to wear a monkey suit, even if I hate it. Your mother told you to ask about that. Didn't she?"

The Blonde wiped her mouth on a napkin. "Not exactly, but I wanted to ask you something else." She cleared her throat again. "I wanted to ask you if you would walk me down the aisle."

In his chest, Charlie Swan's heart was having a mild form of a seizure. The Hale kids were close to him. After their father's tragic death, he had felt responsible for the three of them. But it shouldn't be him who would walk the pretty blonde woman down the aisle. Jasper should be the one doing it.

He would be the one doing it, if Charlie hadn't made that unforgivable mistake back all those years. Was there a period of limitation for guilt feelings? Charlie didn't feel like there was. Maybe if he would have managed to find Officer Hale's murderer, maybe then his soul could finally find some kind of peace again.

"You don't have to do it." Rosalie stated when she realized Charlie's hesitation. "It was just an idea."

Charlie reached over the table to gently pet Rosalie's hand. There was only one right way to answer his dead friend's daughter. "It will be an honor for me." He said in a shaky voice.


	5. Chapter 5

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to a brand new update. Thanks for all your reviews. Your support is everything to me.

This chapter here is dedicated to my reader **sydneyw3** and **CatchingStar**. I hope you'll like it.

_****4****_

"Is she finally asleep? " Bella asked Rosalie as the beautiful Blonde entered the living room.

Rosalie smiled and sat down next to her best friend on the couch. "We didn't even make it to Prince Charming kissing Snow White in the glass coffin."

"Resha is all crazy about princesses." Bella stated while she filled some white wine into the glasses in front of them. The new computer program Charlie had ordered for the police department wasn't working properly. He had been furious about it. At least, Bella thought, I'll get to have an extra day-off thanks to fucked-up technology.

"Cheers," Rosalie said, clicking her glass against Bella's. "Hmm, that's good wine."

Bella took a gulp from her drink before she put it back on the table. Her fingertip circled over the edge of the glass for a few moments. "I missed you."

"Then you shouldn't have moved to Forks." Rosalie told her, nipping on the wine again. It had been a while since she had any alcohol. She needed to be careful not to get tipsy.

After lifting her glass to her lips to drink again, Bella cleared her throat. "You know why I had to."

Rosalie wrapped her left arm around Bella and leaned her head against the brunette's shoulder. "It's because you wanted a fresh start. Right?"

"Kind of like that. But it's difficult. Living under one roof with my father isn't always easy."

Rosalie nipped on her wine. "I can imagine that. When I still lived with my mother and Jazz, she and I fought every day."

Lucy should have gotten herself a new husband, Bella thought. That would probably have made that woman's mood a bit better. How embittered could a single person be?

"More wine?" Bella asked, pouring a bit more of the wine into her own glass. Pleasant warmth started to spread through her veins with every sip of the drink she took.

"Yes, please." Rosalie mumbled. "God, I missed our girl-nights so much."

"You have other friends in Seattle."

Rosalie frowned. "They are not you. No one knows me like you. When I'm with you I don't have to pretend."

Bella gulped down the content of her glass thirstily. The lasagna had turned out a bit too salty for her liking. Her fingers brushed gently over Rosalie's left hand. The gold ring with the diamond on it sparkled beautifully against the pale skin.

"Maybe you should just start being like you are in front of everyone. You do with me and it's not that bad, is it?"

Rosalie sighed and closed her eyes. The contacts she was wearing were irritating them a bit. She couldn't wait to take them out later. Why was Bella suggesting this nonsense to her? Nobody cared to know how she was really like. Not her girlfriends back in Seattle and sure as hell not her fiancé. He thought her to be a beautiful angel. The young woman didn't feel like destroying this image.

"Nobody loves me like you do, Bella." she whispered softly. "You know me and still care."

"You need to have a little more faith in people. A lot of people would still love you if you put your guards down."

The Blonde shook her head while Bella continued rubbing her fingertip lightly down the back of Rosalie's hand.

"Your ring is pretty. It looks expensive."

"Carlisle got it from Tiffany's. He has excellent taste in jewelry. "

Bella filled her glass for the third time. The wine was starting to make her feel a bit dizzy. She needed to stop drinking soon or she would end up with another migraine in the morning.

"That's kind of gay, if you're asking me." She giggled. "Men are not supposed to know about things like jewelry."

A bit of wine splashed over Bella's jeans when Rosalie hit her with a pillow. "My fiancé is not gay. He's just sophisticated."

"Like many other gay men." Bella teased her friend. She stood up from the couch, trying to ignore the shaking of the floor underneath her. "I think I should lie down now. It's late and my night and day rhythm is messed up at the moment."

"Sure, I'm tired too. Let's go upstairs and sleep. You're not snoring, are you?"

Bella laughed. "The only person here that snores is you."

The pretty Blonde frowned and crossed her arms in front of her chest, pushing her breasts up a bit higher. "I do not snore."

"Sure you do." Bella said, walking up the stairs. "I wonder how you got a man to ask you to marry him after he heard that noise you make when you are asleep."

Another pillow hit her head from behind. "You're so mean. I hate you."

"No, you love me, Beautiful." Bella mumbled. "I know you do."

A few minutes later Rosalie and Bella were lying together on Bella's bed. Rosalie had twisted her hair up before hopping under the shower, but the ends of her long blonde curls were still damp.

"Your hair smells so good." Bella murmured. "I love it."

"At least my hair smells good." Rosalie giggled. "That will hopefully make up for it when Carlisle finds out that I snore worse than ten drunken sailors. God, how much I regret that stupid nose-job."

Bella nuzzled her face against Rosalie's neck. "What do you mean, when he finds out?"

Rosalie sat up. She untied her hair and combed through it with her fingers. "You're going to laugh if I tell you."

"I won't." Bella vowed, holding her hand up. "Is he deaf? I mean Charlie is pretty bad at hearing from time to time and as he and your Beau, are around the same age—"

"They are not the same age!" Rosalie protested. "You are so mean today. Why can't you just try to be happy for me?"

The pissed-off expression on Rosalie's face made it obvious for Bella that she had taken it a bit too far with the teasing. Gently she pulled Rosalie into her arms and wrapped the blankets around them.

"I'm sorry. I really am. If he makes you happy, that's all that counts."

Rosalie turned around, snuggling against her friend from behind. "You are forgiven because I love you."

"Thanks." Bella whispered. "Are you uncomfortable? The bed isn't really made for two people."

The brunette shivered a bit when Rosalie kissed her shoulder. "It's fine. I don't mind being your cuddle buddy." Rose stated. After a little break she added. "If I tell you something, will you promise me you won't laugh?"

"Yes."

"Look, I know it's old-fashioned but oh, Bella, it's so very romantic at the same time."

"What is romantic?" Bella asked, feeling her eyelids becoming heavier.

"Carlisle and I, we haven't done it yet. He's such a goddamn gentleman. But it proves he truly cares for me, doesn't it?"

Bella's tiredness was suddenly gone. Rose and Doc Charming didn't have sex with each other? Why? What man doesn't want to jump a woman's bones as soon as possible; especially when the woman was as beautiful as Rosalie?

"Say something, Bella."

"I don't know what to say. It's so weird. Why don't you want to do it? Neither you nor him are virgins, right?"

Rosalie sighed. Bella could feel her warm breathe against her neck. "He's a romantic and hopelessly old-fashioned. Sex is not that important anyway."

Bella shifted a bit around on the bed. She felt too warm. For the first time, since she had moved back here, she wanted to open the window for the night.

"But you do like sex. Right?" Bella asked. It was clearly the alcohol that was making her all giggly and talkative tonight.

"Yes, of course, I like it. It's nice."

"Nice?"

"Yeah, nice, but nothing more," Rosalie made a sound like an embarrassed giggle. "I can't even…oh no…I can't tell you about that…it's so emb-b-barassing."

Bella interlaced her fingers through Rosalie's and gave them a gentle tug. "You can tell me anything."

"I can't, I can't come when I have sex. Isn't that pathetic?"

"Rose, a lot of women can't climax during intercourse. That's normal."

"I don't come ever. No matter what kind of technique my previous boyfriends used to make me…explode…like they called it. Nothing worked."

Rosalie rested her chin on Bella's shoulder. "Did asshole make you come?"

"Not every time." Bella confessed. "He wasn't very good at taking care of my needs." A deep-drawn sigh left Bella's mouth. "I had to take things in my own hands way too often."

The Blonde exhaled through parted lips. "You play with yourself?"

"Doesn't everybody do that? At least now and then, I think."

"I never masturbate. I don't understand what the whole fuss is about."

Bella groaned. "Well, it feels good. Who else could know better how to pleasure you than yourself?"

Rosalie kissed Bella's ear. The wine she had earlier made her lightheaded. "Tell me how you do it. Will you?"

"Rose," Bella breathed. "I can't."

"Please," the Blonde behind her pleaded in a low voice. "Nobody will ever know. It'll be our secret." She kissed Bella's earlobe a second time and cuddled a bit closer against her friend, wrapping her left leg around the brunette's thigh.

"Well," Bella started hesitantly. "Most times I just start by lying on my back. Then I let my hand move under my shirt to cup my breasts."

"Go on," Rosalie whispered. "What else do you do?"

"I wet my fingers and roll them over my nipples until they are hard. Sometimes I like to pull and twist them a little."

"That's hot." Rosalie breathed against Bella's ear. "I like having my boobs played with."

"Maybe you should give playing with yourself another try. Massage your breasts a bit when you are under the shower the next time."

The image of Rosalie's dripping wet body, those perfectly manicured hands lathering the full globes of her breasts in smooth circles, sent an unexpected wave of arousal through Bella. She knew it was wrong to think of her best friend in this way. Yet she couldn't push the pictures out of her head.

"I let my finger glide over my underwear." She mumbled, barely able to suppress the huskiness in her voice. "To feel how wet I am."

Behind her Rosalie shivered. Having Bella tell her about her masturbation technique was supposed to be a joke. But with every word her friend spoke, Rosalie could feel fire crawling through her veins. She had to swallow back the moans that kept building deep inside her throat.

"I push my panties down and start rubbing my thumb over my clit." Bella pressed her thighs together to relieve a bit of the needy throbbing. It wasn't enough.

She freed herself from Rosalie's tight embrace and rushed to the bathroom. There she pulled down her pajama bottoms and sat down on the closed toilet lid. Bella kept her eyes closed the entire time while her fingers rubbed frantically over her slick folds. Memories of Rosalie touching her small breasts with too cold hands, the tingle in her stomach as her friend had caressed her new womanly curves. They had both been so young, so innocent back then.

Bella pressed her left hand against her mouth to suppress her moan as she started thrusting her fingers inside herself. Her inner walls clenched and massaged the digits as a rough climax triggered through her body.

"Fuck," Bella cursed when she managed to stand up again. She felt like her legs had turned into some kind human jello. Mechanically, she pressed the flush and went over to the sink to wash her hands thoroughly. "You so fucked up, Swan."

Rosalie sat up in the bed when Bella returned to the bedroom. "Where were you?"

"Had to pee," Bella said, avoiding eye-contact with her best friend. What in heaven's name was wrong with her? She had never lied to Rosalie before. But there was no way she could tell her what she had just done in the bathroom. Fantasies were a fun thing. Even fantasies had to stick to some kind of rules though, didn't they?

"Are you alright, you seem a little flushed." Rosalie asked, biting her lower lip. "You're not angry at me, are you?"

"No, I'm not. I'm just a bit stressed because it's way too hot inside this room," Bella stated, walking over to the window to open it wide. The icy wind that blew in made the fine hairs on Bella's forearm stand up. She took several deep breaths, enjoying how the wind cooled her overheated skin. The heat inside her though, this strange, tingling heat, stayed just the way it was.


	6. Chapter 6

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome back, my dear readers. Thanks to everyone who decided to give my little fic here a try. It's a fun project for me to work on.

This chapter here is dedicated to **tlc125** and **polarhamster10**. I hope you'll enjoy!

****5****

Rosalie Hale woke up like she did any other morning. It took her a minute to realize she wasn't in her bed back home in Seattle. Bella was still sleeping peacefully next to her on her stomach. With a sore throat and messy hair Rosalie tumbled to the bathroom. Tiredly, she blinked at herself in the mirror. The memory of last night was still vivid. Her cheeks turned crimson when she remembered how shamelessly she had asked Bella about her self-pleasuring habits.

Blame it on the wine, Rosalie thought. She splashed water into her face and brushed her teeth. There was nothing worse than morning breathe. Was there?

After popping her contacts in, the world around Rosalie become a lot clearer. Clearer but yet still so very complicated. In a calm routine she applied her make-up. The blonde lashes around her blue eyes were almost magically turned into silky black. She liked them much better that way.

After changing the oversized shirt she slept in into a pair of jeans and a top, she went downstairs. Her fingers quickly braided her hair together before she tied it up. Her mother didn't like it when she wore her hair up. She claimed it made Rosalie's face too round.

"Good Morning, Rose." Resha greeted her, looking up from the TV screen at that her eyes were focused on.

"Morning, sweetie, what are you watching?"

"Tangled." The little girl mumbled. She cuddled her baby doll against her chest. "Rapunzel has such pretty hair. Just like you."

Rosalie laughed. "Well, I'm glad my hair isn't that long. It would be a lot of work. Don't you think?"

The little girl shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Is my Mommy still sleeping?"

"She is. We need to be quiet to not wake her up. She needs some rest."

"I'm hungry."

Rosalie took Resha's hand in hers. "Well, then we should start making some breakfast. You're a big girl and can help me, right?"

Having a six-year-old help you in the kitchen actually meant more work instead of help. Still, Rosalie let the girl slice up strawberries and crack eggs. She didn't lose her patience, even if half of them landed on the kitchen floor.

"Grandpa likes pancakes too." Resha stated wiping a bit of milk from the table with her hand. "We need to save some for him."

"We'll do that. Now, can you get me the butter from the fridge, sweetie?"

"Yes, Rose." Resha had to stand up on her toes to reach the butter. She handed it to Rosalie and sat back down on her chair, tugging her feet underneath her.

"Rose, when you get married, will you have a baby?"

Rosalie dropped the pan she was holding to the floor. Crap, she thought, quickly kneeling down to lift it up again before anything got burned. After placing it back on the stove, she turned to Resha. The Blonde's lips twitched into a fake smile.

"Maybe I'll have a baby. Would you like that?"

"I think so. I wanted Mommy to have a baby but she said no. Why doesn't she want a baby? They are so cute."

"That they are. That they are." Rosalie mumbled, putting the first finished pancake on a plate. "Your mother doesn't want a baby because she has just started a new job."

"But I want to have a little sister to play with. Nobody ever plays with me."

"Oh sweetie, that's not true. Do you want some milk with your pancakes?"

Resha shook her head. "Juice," she stated. Her mother didn't like it when she drank too much juice but Rosalie didn't need to know that, right? The doorbell rang and the girl jumped from her chair. Pulling the front door open, she looked at a pair of grey trousers and shrugged back.

"Rose! There's a stranger!"

The man kneeled down and smiled. "Hey there, who are you, little Miss?"

"My Mommy told me not to talk to strangers." Resha answered. "Strangers are evil."

Rosalie wrapped her arms around the girl from behind. "That's not a stranger." She stated. Then her mouth curled into a smile. "What are you doing here, darling?"

He smiled back at her, slowly rising up from the ground. "I came to surprise you."

Rosalie felt tempted to tell her fiancé that she didn't like surprises one tiny bit. She liked to be prepared. If she had known he was coming, she would have chosen a different outfit.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" he asked, pulling the beautiful blonde woman into his arms. He still couldn't believe someone as gorgeous as Rosalie wanted to be with a boring old man like him.

"Of course, I'm happy." Rosalie whispered, pressing her lips lightly against his mouth. "I missed you."

She interlaced her fingers with his and pulled him inside the house with her. "I'm making breakfast. Have you eaten something?"

"I ate on the plane. Thank you, Kitty." Kitty – how much Rosalie hated that ridiculous nickname. If she could only bring up the courage to tell him stop using it.

"Carlisle, this is Bella's daughter Resha." she explained. "Resha, that's Carlisle. I'm going to marry him."

"He's the one who's not a prince."

Rosalie placed the plate with the finished pancakes in front of Resha. "Eat them as long as they are still warm. Carlisle is not a prince, yes. He's a doctor."

The girl poured a bit of maple syrup over her pancakes. "Are you a doctor for children?" she asked.

"No, I'm not. My job is to fix broken bones. Did you ever have anything broken?"

"No, but my Mommy says, I will when I run around in the house. But running is so much more fun than walking."

He smiled and nodded his head. "I'm sure it is." Then he turned to his beautiful fiancée. "Kitty, why are you staying here instead of at your brother's place?"

Rosalie cringed. She didn't want to tell Carlisle about her argument with her older brother. Emmett was just jealous, jealous and horribly frustrated since his shoulder injury. Yes, it was sad he couldn't play again. Sometimes you needed to accept things and move on, though.

"Emmett's place is a pigsty. Apart from that I just like spending time with Bella. She went through an ugly break-up."

"Are you done informing your fiancé about my life?" Bella snapped as she entered the kitchen. Her mood was crappy today. She had woken up with a throbbing in her head that was so strong it made her stomach cramp with nausea. Now, all she could do was wait for the Tylenol she had swallowed to start working.

"Good Morning, Bella." Rosalie whispered. "Did you sleep well? Resha helped me to make pancakes."

Bella sat down on one of the chairs and pulled her daughter on her lap. "Is that true? You helped?"

Resha nodded. "I did most."

"I bet you did, sweetie. Rosalie, did you make some coffee? I won't make it through this day without caffeine."

"Rosalie told me you are working for the police." Carlisle stated. "That must be a difficult job, especially when you have a little kid back at home."

Bella dipped her fork into a piece of strawberry on her plate. "Are you telling me that mothers are bad cops? That's pretty chauvinistic."

"I would never dare to do such a thing. How long have you been working for the police now?"

"Two years. Most of them back in Seattle. But handing out traffic tickets is not what I'm planning on doing forever."

The little one started fidgeting around on Bella's lap. "Can we go to the Rez today? I want to see the tide pools."

"Maybe next Saturday, sweetie," Bella told her daughter. "I need to study for one of my exams today."

Resha frowned. "Daddy would go with me. He's more fun than you."

"We could go with her." Rosalie said, placing her hand on Bella's. "Couldn't we, darling? The Indian Reservation is lovely."

"Sure, why not. Resha, would you like to go to La Push with me and Rosalie?"

"Will we have ice-cream?" the girl asked, lifting her glass with the apple juice to her mouth to drink.

"I think we can arrange that, little Miss." Carlisle stated.

Resha climbed from Bella's lap. "Vanilla and chocolate is my favorite." She called out, rushing up the stairs. "Mommy, where is my camera?"

"It's in the box under your bed. Don't run! How often will I have to tell you that?"

"Such an adorable little girl," Carlisle said. "You must be very proud of her."

Bella nodded her head. "I am. Do you and Rose want to have kids?"

"Well, maybe." He cleared his throat. "We haven't discussed that topic yet. It would be nice to have a pair of little feet tripling through the house again."

"Again?" Bella asked, taking a sip from the glass of apple juice in front of her. She needed to tell Rose and especially Charlie to stop letting Resha drink that sugary stuff all the time. It was bad for her teeth.

"Carlisle helped his brother-in-law to raise his three nieces after his sister passed. Isn't that fantastic? He's really great with kids."

Bella went over to the counter and poured herself a cup of coffee. She added some cream and sugar to it before taking a first sip. The pain in her head was a bit better now, but she still felt like she was sore from lying on her side most of the night. Not that she regretted sharing her bed with Rosalie last night. It had felt nice having a warm body next to hers. Maybe it had felt a bit nicer than it should have.

"So, you and Resha's father broke up not too long ago?" Carlisle asked. Bella's free hand grabbed the wood of the counter behind her. Why did Rosalie have to tell this man about her private life? That was so…unnecessary.

"Thanks for reminding me. I actually felt only half like shit when I woke up. Have a nice day too!"

She took a quick gulp from her coffee. Then she grabbed her gun-belt and her jacket. Bella took a deep breathe to calm herself for a moment. "Rose, I'm off, forgot something at the station. You take care of Resha and please, don't let her eat candy all day long."

With that she rushed out of the house, glad that she hadn't actually insulted her best friend's hubby-to-be too much. It was just that she hated to be reminded of her failed relationship. Seven years, in the hope he would change. Change and grow up from being a careless, selfish child.

"Crap, crap, crap." The young officer cursed while she made her way to the Forks Police department. Of course, she hadn't forgotten anything there. She just needed an excuse to get away from Doc Charming. The way he had looked at Rosalie like she was something to eat. Just gross!

Bella made it to the police station in record time. You are really a great role model for the people of the town, she thought, killing the engine of the car.

"Bell- Deputy Swan, what are you doing here?" Charlie asked, looking up from his desk. "The idiot from the computer company still didn't manage to get the goddamn program running."

"Still? That sucks. How are things going today? Everything quiet?"

"Peaceful as it's supposed to be. I finally have time to read through this leaflet Emmett dropped by. Boy is smart. He has good ideas. But this teacher stuff, he's doing. It's just not right for him."

"I agree on that." Bella stated. "Your coffee is empty. I'll get you a new one."

Great, you are really acting like a fucking secretary, Bella thought when she walked over to the coffee machine in the corner. She filled two plastic cups with coffee. A glimpse at her desk showed her that it was covered with boxes and several piles of folders. She would be stuck with doing paperwork for months. Things couldn't get any worse. Could they?


	7. Chapter 7

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N]

Today's update is dedicated to my readers _**Jay aka Jordan**_ and _**Coer d'amertume28**_. I hope you'll enjoy!

****6****

Coming here was a stupid idea. Bella cursed herself while she flipped through the box in front of her. There was nothing worse than going to work on your day off and ending up staying. At least, she didn't need to have a bad conscious because of Resha. Her daughter would spend a lovely day with her very favorite babysitter. Rose was so good with kids.

Bella's mouth curled into a smile, while she placed the next sheet of paper into the scanner. It was mindless work. Any moron could do it.

"How's it going?" Charlie asked, walking past Bella's desk. "Is the program working now?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Once I'll manage to scan the entire documents," which will take about a month, she added in her head. "Once I'll manage to scan the entire documents, it will be much easier to find records."

Charlie nodded his head. He was immensely proud of himself that he had managed to get the town council into investing the extra costs for the new computer system.

Police work was important for the future peace of the good town of Forks.

"You left the little one with Rose and her Sugar Daddy?"

Bella couldn't resist making a puking noise in response. She didn't like Rosalie's fiancé one tiny bit. Wasn't it strange how you could just have met a person and instantly knew you and they would never get along?

"You don't like him." Charlie stated. "Is he a jerk?"

"Not really." Bella lied. "A bit snobbish perhaps. I don't get what Rose's sees in him."

Bella's father cleared his throat. "Maybe it's the money."

"Rosalie is not her mother." Bella said, placing the scanned papers back into the folder. "She just wants to be loved."

"Marriage is about more than love."

Spoken like a romantic at heart, Bella thought while a smile flashed over her lips. It was too sad that Charlie had never truly gotten over Renee.

"I don't think I'll ever get married." She told her father. "It's too much drama for my liking."

"It's because of him, right? Not all dudes are douchebags like Resha's Dad."

Bella's mouth twitched. She didn't feel the slightest urge to start dating again. Starting a relationship now would only slow her down in reaching her goals. Having a child right after finishing school had slowed her down enough.

_How can you even consider doing something like this? Killing your baby? Don't you have a heart?_ Rosalie's angry voice echoed in her head. It had been one of the few times that Bella and her best friend had been in a really bad argument with each other.

The young officer caressed the silver-framed picture of her daughter on her desk. She loved Resha so much. It was strange how one could grow to love something that you didn't even want to have in the first place.

Charlie picked up the phone when it started ringing. Usually it was only people complaining about their neighbors turning the music on too loud or some traffic offenses. What was so difficult in sticking to a speed limit? It was only for their own safety.

"Rosie, kid, are you crying?" he said into the receiver. "Yes, she's here. Wait, I'll put you on her phone."

"Hey, Beautiful." Bella greeted her best friend. "Is something wrong?"

"D-d-don't freak. Oh God, Bella, I'm s-s-so sorry. I don't know how this could happen. Oh, my God."

Bella could hear Rosalie sobbing into the phone. It was rare that Rose let herself break down like this. Maybe she had a fight with Carlisle. If he was the one who had upset her like this, Bella would have his ass.

"She's gone. I swear it was just a minute. I turned around and then she was gone!"

"Who's gone?" Bella asked, playing with the cord of her phone. They really needed to get some newer equipment here. "Rose, what happened?"

"Resha," the pretty Blonde on the other side of the line sobbed. "She's gone and we can't find her."

xxxx

For a police officer, there were few things that were worse than a missing child. It was bad, because you knew of all the sick fucks out there who would do God knows what to a poor kid. It was also bad because you had to remain calm around hysterical parents.

"We find her." Charlie assured Bella, pulling his daughter against his chest inside the cruiser. He had already alarmed everyone he knew. Chief Swan knew more people he cared to know.

"Bella!" Rose called out, running towards them over the parking lot. "I'm so sorry. If something happens to her, I will never forgive myself."

Bella took a deep breath. Then, she grabbed Rosalie roughly by her shoulders. "Don't say that! Nothing is going to happen to her! Do you hear me?"

"Let her go." Carlisle whispered, stepping closer to his fiancée. This was the first time he had seen her lose her control like that. "You are hurting her."

"You stay out of this." Bella snapped. "If you hadn't distracted Rose, nothing would have happened."

Charlie sighed, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Please, try to stay calm, honey. I know it's difficult."

He turned to Carlisle. So, that was the man Rose was going to marry? With his wavy blond hair, the doctor reminded him a bit of an older version of Jasper Senior. An older vision that would never exist…

"Mr. Swan? I feel honored to make your acquaintance, even if the circumstances are very unhappy."

"It's Chief Swan for you, Dr. Cullen. Now, can you tell me what happened? Every tiny detail could be helpful."

Carlisle cringed. It was so obvious the man in front of him didn't like him. No wonder he didn't like him. The first time, they met and it's because Swan's granddaughter has disappeared.

"We went back to the parking lot because Resha forgot her camera in the car."

Rosalie sniffed and wiped her running nose at the back of her hand. Her make-up was smeared all over her face and she didn't care. If only they would find the girl before anyone could hurt her. If someone would—

"There was a van." Carlisle stated. "At the other side of the lot, it's gone now."

"Do you remember the license plate?" Charlie asked. It was difficult for him to keep his voice calm, when Cullen shook his head no.

"Rosalie, please stop crying." Bella pleaded. "If you cry, I'll cry too and then I'm going to lose it completely."

"I'm so sorry, Bella." Rose whispered. "I'll never forgive myself."

"Don't say that." Bella murmured, pulling her best friend into her arms again. "We'll find her." Comforting Rosalie helped her somehow. It had always been easier for Bella to handle other people's pain better than her own.

"Look, there it comes again!" Carlisle called out, pointing towards a rusty blue van that was just making its way into the parking lot. "I'm sure it's the same I saw earlier."

Bella straightened her back, but Charlie stepped in front of her. "Let me handle this." He said, placing his hand on the gun in his belt. Chief Swan had never used his weapon before. Not that he would hesitate to do it, should it be necessary to protect those he loved.

With a few steps, Charlie walked over to the van and knocked on its door. The driver opened the door and Sheriff Swan gasped.

"You? What the hell are you doing here in La Push?"

"Hi Grandpa!" Little Resha called out, climbing over the seat from the backside of the van. "Daddy bought a van! Isn't it cool?"

"Out of the car, Crowley! Now!" Charlie yelled. His granddaughter's father was a douche. A douche, who would never come near Resha again, if he had a say in it.

Bella pulled the passenger's door open and wrapped her daughter into a tight hug. Like every parent who had been scared shitless she vowed to herself to never let her child alone again.

She kissed Resha's head and placed the girl on the ground again. "Honey, you can never scare Mommy like this again. She was really worried about you."

"But I was with Daddy." The girl protested. "He bought a van. It's fun. We could all drive to Disneyland together."

It took every bit of self-control Bella had left when she spoke up again. "Sweetie, go over to Rose. Be nice to her. She was really upset when you were gone and she couldn't find you."

As soon as the little one was out of sight, Bella reached out her hand and slapped her ex-boyfriend right across the face. "I hate you!"

"Jeez, cherie, calm down. Why are so agitated? Are you on your period again?"

"Bella, if you want me to arrest him." Charlie stated. "Just say the word and he'll be behind bars before he can blink."

Bella grabbed Tyler's collar. "What the hell were you thinking? You can't just take a child from a parking lot. I could kill you for how you've worried me!"

Tyler wrapped his hand around Bella's wrist and caressed the skin above her pulse point. She was even more beautiful when she got a bit hysterical like this.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled. "Resha saw me in the parking lot and you know how our little princess is like."

"Don't touch me!" Bella growled. "How do you have money to buy a new car?"

"My mother gave it to me." Tyler told her, running his fingertips tenderly over the side of the van. "It's for my new business."

"I hope whatever business you are planning to start doesn't involve anything illegal." Charlie mumbled, eyeing his daughter's ex from head to toe.

Tyler frowned. "Bella, cherie, your father is such a racist. He hates me. It's his fault you broke up with me. But you and I, we belong together."

For a moment Bella thought he was going to kiss her now. She couldn't let that happen. It had taken her so long to bring up the courage to end things with Tyler.

"Check his Driver's License." She stated, trying to make her voice sound as hard as possible. "I bet it's expired."

"Get your papers out!" Charlie snapped, making Tyler jump a step away from Bella. "Here. I was going to get them done next week."

"Too bad for you it's not next week now. Get in the Cruiser. Your mother can bail out your sorry ass, if she cares."

The young man whined. "Bella, come on. You can't let your father do that."

She didn't answer him. Instead, she turned around, barely managing to hold back the tears when her father maneuvered her ex-boyfriend over to his cruiser.

"Why is Daddy going with Grandpa?" Resha asked, rushing by. "He didn't even tell me goodbye."

"I'm sorry about that, sweetie." Bella croaked, sitting down on the hard asphalt. "Come here to Mommy. Let me hold you."

She pulled the little girl on her lap and pressed her face against the mess of curls on Resha's head.

"Did you and Daddy fight again?" Resha asked.

"Yes, sweetie."

"Are you sad now?"

Bella nodded her head. Then she kissed her daughter's snub nose. "I'm sorriest when you run away and Mommy doesn't know where you are."

"But I was with Daddy. He came here to surf. Isn't that cool? I want to learn how to surf too."

Rosalie walked towards them. She kneeled down next to Bella. "I'm sorry. Oh Bella, I'm so very sorry. If something would have happened to her—"

"Nothing happened. Resha's a smart girl. Aren't you, sweetie?" Too bad your father is such a dick, she thought secretly.

"There you are again, little Miss." Carlisle stated. "You've worried everyone."

Bella coughed. "Can you drive me and Resha home? I just want to go home now."

The blond doctor nodded his head. He had expected a hysterical scene. In the hospital he had to deal with worried parents often enough. Bella seemed so calm. Well, at least pretty calm for a mother in her situation. His poor Rose seemed more agitated than she was.

"Of course, I'll drive you home." He told Bella. "I'm very sorry our little trip to the Rez had to end like this."


	8. Chapter 8

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to a brand new chapter, my dear readers. Thanks for all your support.

This update is dedicated to **unicorn55** and **simplyathinker**

_****7****_

Rosalie's hands were still trembling a bit when she took the glass of wine from her fiancé. She was usually good at controlling her emotions but today, things didn't work like she wanted them to.

"Here, Kitty." Carlisle said with a genuine smile on his face. "Drink this wine. It's good for your nerves."

She sipped on the drink, more out of politeness and placed the glass on the little table next to her. "Thank you."

"There is nothing to be thankful for." He responded. "I'm very sorry that you got agitated like this."

Rosalie nodded tiredly and forced her lips into a smile. She hated that she always had to smile whether she felt like it or not. "I'm not a very pretty sight when I get upset. I cry and then I look ugly."

He pushed a wisp of Rosalie's long blonde hair carefully behind her ear. "You could never be ugly to me, Kitty."

She cleared her throat and stood up from the edge of the couch. Moving around would help her to sort her thoughts better. If anything had happened to Resha, she would have never been able to forgive herself.

"Maybe I should call Bella and ask if everything is okay with her." Rosalie stated, searching the depth of her handbag for her cell.

"I think, you should let your friend and her ex-boyfriend talk things out privately." Carlisle stated. "There seems to be a lot of unsolved tension between them."

"Tyler's an immature jerk. That's the problem." Rosalie snapped. "Bella has been trying so hard to make things work. She deserves better."

Carlisle hugged Rosalie from behind. "It's adorable, how protective you are when it comes to your friend Bella." He kissed her neck, pulling instantly back when he felt the woman in front of him stiffening.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, trying to change the subject of their conversation. "That little Diner up the road looked good."

Rosalie's mouth twitched into another fake smile. "Sure. Let's go and have a bite."

Minutes later when Carlisle and Rosalie entered the Diner, she was instantly reminded why she didn't like this place. No matter how much they cleaned, it always smelled a bit like old people and greasy fat inside of it.

At the counter, a half-full glass of beer in front of him was her brother. Great, like she needed to see Emmett to make her day even worse than it already was.

"Hey," she said, not even bothering to smile. That was what she liked about her brother. Emmett didn't expect her to play nice when she didn't feel like it. "It's too early to start drinking."

"It's Light Beer." Emmett responded, taking another gulp. This was his third glass. Rosalie didn't need to know about this, though.

"Hello Emmett." Carlisle greeted his fiancée's older brother. "It's good to see you again. Would you like to eat with us?"

Emmett Hale had never said no to a free meal. His sister had an awful taste in men. Carlisle was way too old for her in his opinion. At least he seemed to be treating her well.

"What are you doing in Forks, Doc?" Emmett asked, emptying the remaining content of his glass down in one gulp.

Carlisle smiled and placed his hand on Rosalie's. "I missed my beautiful fiancée and came to surprise her."

Emmett chuckled. "Surprise her?" He leaned over the table and whistled through his teeth. "Nettie, I get another beer, sweetie."

Under the table Rosalie tried to kick her brother in order to warn him.

"Carlisle, don't you know that Rose hates surprises?"

"That's not true." Rosalie protested. "And you need to stop drinking beer like it is water."

"Light Beer is water colored like piss."

"God, I hate when you talk like that. Carlisle, don't listen to him. Of course, I do like surprises. Anyone does."

Emmett took the beer the waitress handed him and grinned. "Come on, Rose. You were the only eleven-year-old that cried over her surprise birthday party."

Carlisle wiggled his eyebrows. "Is that true, darling?"

"What does it matter? I was a child back then. As for today, I don't like bad surprises. You coming here to visit me that was a good surprise."

She stood up from her chair and wiped her hands on the paper napkin on the table. "I'll be right back."

As soon as Rosalie was out of sight, Carlisle spoke up again. "You don't like that I'm marrying your sister."

"Is it that obvious?" Emmett asked, leaning back against the wall behind him.

"Well, not directly." Carlisle mumbled. "Rosalie hasn't mentioned anything, but I'm usually good at reading people."

"Look, I will say it like it is. Firstly, you are too old for my sister and secondly. For fucks sake, who gets married after…six weeks?"

Carlisle nodded his head. His eyes moved over the engagement ring on his finger. What was he supposed to tell Rosalie's brother? Of course, getting married so soon was unusual, in today's time. Rosalie was a precious gift to his life. He hadn't felt this light and happy in so many years. Why would he give up on that? It would be such a waste.

"I'm very happy your sister accepted my proposal."

"Bet my mother is happy too. She has tried to marry her off since Rosalie developed tits."

Rosalie felt like turning around on her heels, when she heard the last sentence her brother said to her future husband. What a jerk, she thought.

"Is Emmett boring you with old stories?" she asked, making her voice as cheerful as possible. "Don't believe everything he says."

The blond doctor shrugged his shoulders. He pulled out his phone when it started ringing. "Excuse me for a moment. It's important."

He walked out, to take the call, leaving Rosalie and Emmett alone at the table.

"Stop telling him shit about me. That's embarrassing."

"You know what will be embarrassing, Rosie? If you get a divorce within the first six months."

"I hate you. Why can't you be happy for me?"

Emmett sipped on his beer. "If I thought, that this is what makes you happy, I would."

Rosalie sighed. "I don't understand."

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "I know you don't understand. That's why you are mad at me for telling you the truth."

Carlisle returned and sat down next to Rosalie. "I have some bad news, darling. There's a problem in the hospital and I need to fly back tonight."

"Really?" Rosalie whispered. "Can't you fly back tomorrow?"

"I'm sorry, but that's impossible, if we want to save that kid's arm."

Now, what, are you supposed to say to something like this, Rosalie thought? You can't tell your fiancé to stay with you, when he's could be saving lives instead. The only problem with this was that it was Rosalie who needed to be saved more than anyone else.

xxxx

"You can never again do something like that." Bella stated, pouring water over her daughter's head. Doing Resha's hair was something she hated to do. It was a tiresome procedure and usually ended with the girl crying.

"But I was with Daddy." Resha protested, closing her eyes as tightly as possible. The shampoo still burned. Could there be anything worse than getting shampoo into your eyes?

Bella took a deep breathe. "I didn't know you were with Tyler. All I knew was that you were gone suddenly." She pulled the girl's head a bit back. "Keep still. I put some more conditioner in."

"Are you and Daddy angry at each other?"

"A bit," Bella lied. You can't tell a six-year-old her father is a dick. Every father is supposed to be a hero. She rinsed off the conditioner and wrapped a towel around Resha's head. "Now, get out of the water."

Patiently Resha let her mother dry her off. She knew that the worst part was yet to come. Getting her hair combed was something she detested more than anything.

"Here's your doll." Bella said, placing the girl on the closed toilet lid. "You can do her hair while I do yours."

"No!" Resha called out, tossing the doll aside. "I don't want you to comb my hair. It hurts!"

"It doesn't hurt. Stop making a tantrum."

She grabbed the comb from the sink and started pulling on the tangled curls of her daughter. "I'll try to do it quick, okay?"

"Yes, Mommy." The girl mumbled, pressing her lips together. If she cried out in pain, her mother would only tell her that it didn't hurt. How could she know if her scalp was hurting or not? If only she could have straight hair like her mother. Straight hair was so much prettier than frizzy hair.

"I know you miss your father." Bella stated, working through the next wisp of curls. "But you still get to see him. I promise."

"When?" Resha asked, inhaling sharply through her teeth when Bella pulled on her hair. "Can we go to Disneyland together for my birthday?"

"Disneyland is too expensive. But Mommy will try to figure something out that we can do on your birthday, okay?"

"Daddy said we could go to Disneyland with his van."

Yes, your Daddy said, Bella thought grimly. Tyler was always good at making promises. It was too bad he wasn't good at keeping them.

"Mommy?"

"We'll talk about it another time." She kissed Resha's head. "See, we're already done with your hair."

Resha jumped up. "If we can't go to Disneyland for my birthday, can I get a kitten then?"

"Resha, I don't think a pet is a good idea." Bella said, knowing that the work would end up on her. "Maybe when you're a bit older."

"But kittens are so cute. Jessy has one too and she's younger than me."

"Ask your Grandpa about the kitten." Bella stated. She was convinced that Charlie would never agree to a pet. The only animals he cared about were those on his plate.

"Great! I'll ask him tonight, when he comes home." The girl called out, rushing out of the bathroom.

Bella smiled and kneeled down to pick up the doll from the floor. The doorbell started ringing downstairs.

"Don't open the door, Resha!" she called. "I'll be right there."

"Hi," Rosalie whispered, when Bella pulled the front door open a minute later. "Carlisle had to fly back to Seattle."

"That sucks." Bella mumbled. "Come in. I'm sorry for how I look. I had to bathe Resha."

"You look nice. Shine-though is the latest fashion in Europe, I've heard."

Rosalie's eyes moved over the brunette's upper body. The material of Bella's white top had gotten wet, making the blue bra beneath it visible. Beautiful, Rosalie thought. She's so beautiful and doesn't even know it.

"Come in. I'll be right back. Just need to change into something else."

Rosalie walked inside and sat down next to Resha on the couch. "What are you drawing, sweetie?"

"My kitten," the girl responded. "Mommy said, I could have one for my birthday, if Grandpa allows it. He's going to allow it, right?"

"I'm sure, he will." Rosalie said, cuddling a pillow against her lap. "What else do you want for your birthday?"

"The Rapunzel Barbie…and a tiara. Lucy said you always had pretty tiaras when you were little."

Rosalie cringed. If her mother only knew—

"Rose?"

"I'll see what we can do with that Barbie doll. Hey, I brought some apple pie with me. Do we want to eat it now?"

"Are there raisins in it?"

"I think so."

"Yuck. I don't like raisins. Maybe Mommy wants to have it."

With that the girl grabbed the sketch block and her crayons and rushed upstairs.

"Don't run! See, now you almost fell again." Bella called out, barely managing to hold the girl when she slipped on the top stair. Poor child had managed inherited all the bad things from her parents. She had Tyler's hair and her bad sense of balance. Maybe she should send the girl to ballet classes. Resha had talked her ear off a while ago that she wanted to learn how to dance.

"I knew someone who used to run around in this house all the time." Rosalie teased. "Give the girl a break. You are so strict to her all the time."

"We'll talk about strict and not strict when you have kids." Bella stated, sitting down next to Rose. "Oh, you brought cake. That's why I love you."

She dipped the plastic fork into the crust and lifted it to her mouth. "Delicious."

Rosalie cleared her throat. "I'm really sorry, I let the kid go missing today. I swear it was just a moment that I didn't have my eyes on her."

"Let's not talk about it anymore. Nothing has happened and that's all that counts."

Bella wrapped her arm around Rosalie. "The cake is good. Let's share one piece now and safe the other one for breakfast."

"Deal." Rosalie whispered. "We met Emmett at the Diner. He's still against the wedding."

"Why?" Bella asked with a full mouth, chewing the apple pie slowly. You could think of Emmett Hale what you wanted. At least, the guy always said exactly what he was thinking.

"He thinks I'm getting married because Mom wants it."

"Is that true?"

"Bella! I thought you are on my side."

Bella sighed, taking Rosalie's hand in hers. "I'm always on your side, Beautiful. If you tell me this is what you want. I'll be by your side."


	9. Chapter 9

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] *throws confetti* - We've managed to break the 100th review mark. This really makes me feel loved and cherished. A bit fat thank you goes out to all of my readers out there.

Today's update is dedicated to **Parkourgirl2121**

_****8****_

Bella tightened the grip of her hand around Rosalie's. "Please, tell me that you really want this wedding."

Rosalie nodded her head. Her mouth twitched into a smile that never actually appeared on her face. Why couldn't Bella stop asking her about the wedding? It was making her feel awkward. She didn't need any more doubts to be put in her head than there already were. Yes, she did care for him. Carlisle was a great guy. He was a doctor and a perfect gentleman. What more could you ask for?

"Look," Bella mumbled after a moment of hesitation. "I'm not trying to get on your nerves. I just want to make sure you know what you are getting yourself into."

She touched the engagement ring on Rosalie's finger very lightly. "Do you love him?"

"Of course I do. He's fantastic. Did you know that he spent two years in Somalia working for free to help landmine victims?"

"What has him going to Africa to do with you? Do. You. Love. Him?" Bella asked, emphasizing every word a bit more than it would have been necessary.

"I t-t-think, I do." Rosalie stuttered. "I mean it's not like butterflies in my stomach, but I do care about him."

Bella sighed. "To care is not enough. It's not enough to make a lifelong marriage work."

She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. "Maybe you should give yourself a bit more time."

Rosalie stood up from the couch. Inside of her she was trembling. How could Bella dare to tell her something like that? Of course her marriage was going to work. It was going to work, right?

"What do you know about working marriages?" Rose snapped. "Your parents are divorced and don't get me started on you and Asshole."

Bella reached out her hand to Rosalie, wrapping it around her blond friend's wrist. "Sit down again. Please, don't be mad at me for telling you the truth."

The blonde woman sat down at the edge of the couch, staring down at the ring on her hand. When Carlisle had put in on her hand, it had felt pretty much similar to when she had been crowned during the beauty pageants in her childhood. She knew that she was supposed to be happy and proud but she wasn't.

"Do you have something to drink?" Rosalie asked, fighting the urge to push the gold ring down her finger. She couldn't do that and to know that she couldn't do so made her feel trapped.

"Sure. Do you want to have the rest of the wine we had last night?"

"Don't you have anything stronger?"

Bella cocked an eyebrow. Rosalie very rarely had hard liquor to drink. Still, she went to the kitchen and returned a moment later with a glass of whisky in her hand.

"Here we go. I hope it doesn't taste too bad."

"Doesn't matter." Rosalie whispered, lifting the glass to her mouth. The taste was bitter. It burned so badly on her tongue that she ended up having a coughing fit. "Crap. That tastes like poison."

I warned you, Bella thought, taking the glass from Rosalie's hands. She took a small sip, placing her lips exactly on the pink mark at the crystal glass. Pleasant warmth deep in her stomach followed the bitter taste in her mouth.

"When Carlisle proposed, I didn't even know that to tell him." Rosalie confessed. "Isn't that stupid?"

It's not stupid, Bella thought. It's just a sign for you having doubts. Oh, my poor Rose.

"I called Mom and she started crying. Can you believe that she actually started to cry?"

"Rose, please tell me you didn't accept his proposal because Lucy wanted you to?"

Rosalie shook her head. Then she took the glass with the rest of the whisky from Bella and drank it in one gulp. Disgusting!

"It's not like that, Bella."

Bella put her right hand on Rosalie's shoulder. "So, you say, it's not that way. But, Rose, this is exactly how it looks like."

"You are being mean," Rosalie pressed out, blinking away tears in her eyes. She hated the embarrassing habit of crying when she felt ashamed.

"I'm not mean." Bella stated calmly. "I love you and I care about your happiness."

"Nobody says no to a doctor's proposal." Rose mumbled. "That's what Mom said and she's right. Carlisle is a good man. He's going to treat me good."

"I'm sure he will. If he doesn't there'll be hell for him to pay."

Rosalie shifted around on the couch, finally resting her head on Bella's lap. The whisky was making her feel a bit dizzy. "You are my best friend."

"You are mine. I love you. You deserve better than to be treated good."

"What else would I expect from my husband?"

"Rose, are sure that you are a woman? What about love? What about desire? You sound like a tragic heroine from an eighteen century novel who has given up on love."

Rose giggled. "You read too many books. Love is never like this in reality." Slowly she lifted her fingers and caressed Bella's cheek. "I didn't know you were such a romantic."

"It's a secret." Bella whispered, feeling the skin of her face beginning to tingle under Rosalie's playful caress.

"Best friends tell each other everything." Rosalie stated, running her thumb over Bella's lips. "Wow, your mouth is so soft."

"That's just that honey lip-balm I put on earlier. Do you want some? I think it's in my jacket."

"Not necessary." Rosalie said, fisting her hand into Bella's hair. She could feel her heartbeat speeding up when she tried to pull her friend's face closer to her own.

"Mommy, I'm thirsty."

The women on the couch jumped apart. They felt like they had been caught doing something forbidden.

"I'll get you some water, sweetie." Bella said, trying to ignore the tingling in the pit of her stomach. Rosalie had almost kissed her. It was just meant to be for fun but still. A kiss on the lips was more than inappropriate.

"I want apple juice."

"So, do I." Rosalie stated, sitting up a bit straighter on the couch. "Would you bring me some too?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "You are not a good role model. Come with me, Resha. We'll get some juice for all of us."

"Can we have cookies too?" The girl asked, twisting a wisp of her hair around her fingers. "I'm hungry."

"Kay," Bella murmured. She pulled out three glasses and the bottle with apple juice. Maybe she should just stop buying sugar-containing drinks.

Back in the living room, Rosalie felt like she had almost done something terrible. She could lie to herself and pretend that she hadn't been just a split second from kissing her best friend. The problem was that Rosalie had never been a good liar when it came to lying to herself.

"Rose, do you want chocolate cookies too?"

"Who can say no to cookies? Come sit with me, sweetie. Did you finish your drawing?"

Resha nodded. "Not yet. Do you want to see it when I'm done?"

"Of course, I want to." Rosalie said, taking a cookie from the plate. Drinking alcohol, even when it hadn't been much, always made her hungry for something sweet. For a moment she remembered her weight-loss plan. She needed to be a bit more disciplined or else she wouldn't manage to fit into her mother's dress.

xxxx

Lucy Hale was a woman who had been through too much in her life. She had been through much and it had made her bitter. That bitterness though was hidden beneath a carefully build up mask of arrogance and politeness.

"This place is a shame, son." She reproached her fist-born son after stepping over a few empty pizza boxes on the carpet in his living room. Emmett hated his mother showing up here without invitation. Monday morning was his day off and he hated that her visit had ruined a morning of watching comics and drinking for him.

"You don't have to live here." He snapped, opening another can of beer on the table. "I like my apartment the way it is."

Lucy clicked her tongue. Then she started cleaning up the chaos all around her. Emmett needed to find a wife. It was so obvious that you couldn't let him live on his own.

"Don't talk to me in that tone, Emmett. Do you know where your sister is? She's not answering her cell."

"Does she have to be available every fucking minute? Maybe her battery has died. What do I know?"

Lucy took the beer from Emmett's hands. Then she went over to the sink that was filled with dirty dishes and poured the beer out.

"Thank you, Mom. That was my last one."

"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you an alcoholic now? I saw this report on tv about athletes who—"

"I don't want to fucking talk about it anymore! What kind of a difference does it make? None!"

"Don't raise your voice on me. I could still bend you over my knee and spank you. It's bad that you can't play football anymore. But life is not always fair."

Emmett coughed. "Mom, stop cleaning, it's not necessary."

Lucy shook her head. "Oh boy. Why can't you be like Jasper? You could eat straight from the floor of his room."

"I got plates for that."

"You are impossible. Now, tell me, how's your teaching job going?"

"I hated teachers when I was back at school. Now, I'm one of those fuckers."

"Language, young man, language. Promise me not to talk like that at the wedding rehearsal."

Emmett chuckled, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Why does anyone need a wedding rehearsal? It's not that difficult to say I do in the right moment."

Back at the Swan's house, Rosalie and Bella had woken up after a night of restless sleep. The entire night they had tried not to touch each other in the small bed in Bella's bedroom. Never before had they felt as awkward as this around the other one.

"Could you have a look at Charlie's cruiser?" Bella had asked Rosalie after breakfast. "It's making some weird, rattling noises."

"Sure, why not. Let's do it now. You can be my assistant."

Minutes later Rosalie had her arms up to her elbow in oil and grease, leaning over the opened hood of the engine. Fixing cars was easy for her. Cars never commented about your tits or your ass. Maybe that was one of the reasons why Rosalie had decided on a completely unfeminine kind of career.

"Can you fix it?" Bella asked, shining the flashlight into the dark motor-compartment. "If it's too difficult, we could bring it to a garage."

"Are you trying to insult me? Of course, I can fix this. It's just some cable that's leaking oil. Can you try to start the engine?"

Bella did like she had been told. The engine rattled, worse than it had done before.

"Keep going." Rosalie called. "I think I've got it now."

The rattling turned into the familiar roaring sound before Bella killed the engine again.

"You are amazing. How did you do that?"

Rosalie laughed, wiping her nose with the back of her arm. She ended up smearing a bit of the greasy motor oil on her cheek. To Bella she had never looked more beautiful than in this very moment. It was probably because Rosalie was truly being herself right now. Bella wanted her to be like this all the time.

"Did I get some grease in my hair?" Rosalie asked, lowering her head so that Bella could take a closer look.

Bella cleared her throat. "There's some here." She mumbled, trying to remove it with her fingertips.

"Don't touch it. You are only making it worse. I'll just go and take a quick shower."

Rosalie kissed Bella's cheek and walked back inside the house. For a moment Bella felt like she had lost the control over her lower body. Her knees felt weak as she sank down, leaning against the side of the cruiser. Inside her chest, her heart thundered. What the hell was wrong with her?

"Bella, how nice to see you again, girl." Lucy greeted her overly cheerful, walking up to her. "Where is my Rosalie?"

"Shower," Bella croaked. "She went to hop under the shower."

Lucy's eyes wandered to the opened hood of the cruiser. "Don't tell me she tried to play mechanic again?"

"She's actually good at it." Bella tried to defend her best friend in front of Rosalie's mother. "And I asked her to have a look at the car."

"It's not lady-like to get car grease under your fingernails. I really hoped this nonsense would stop now that she has her engineering degree."

"I think you should let Rose make her own choices."

"I only want what's best for her. A mother always wants what's best for her children."

Bella took a deep breathe. "Is that why you talked her into getting married?"

"I didn't talk her into anything. I just want her happiness. As Rosalie's friend you should do the same."


	10. Chapter 10

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] I feel like I always tend to get most creative when I'm feeling miserable. At least, my readers get to have something out of it. Can I get a hug? I really need one right now.

Today's update is dedicated to **femslashfan** and **xXhiddenbeautyXP**

_****9****_

The Hale's were a family that talked about everything. Yet they talked about nothing at all. Lucy Hale had done her best to raise her three children on her own after her husband's tragic death. She was strict, yes, but it was only for the kids own benefit. One day, they would be grateful for that.

"Don't put that much butter on your carrots, sweetie." She told her daughter. "That's unnecessary fat."

Rosalie dropped her fork. It annoyed her beyond words when Lucy used to make a comment about her eating habits. She was far from being overweight. So, it simply wasn't necessary to supervise every bite she made. It was unnecessary and she hated it.

Right now though, Rosalie felt like not eating anymore at all. She was too nervous. Inside her stomach was a tingly sensation that was impossible to ignore. Every time she thought about the kiss, well, the almost kiss with Bella, those tingles were there.

The problem was that Rosalie had no idea what she was supposed to make of this feeling. Would kissing Bella feel different from kissing a man? Would her mouth feel as soft against her lips as it had felt against her fingertip? Would she enjoy kissing Bella? And if she would enjoy it, what would that say about her. About, who she was?

"Now you killed her appetite, Mom." Jasper mumbled, lifting his glass to his mouth to take a sip from the water.

"It won't do any damage if she skips a meal or two." Lucy stated. "I'm sure she wants to look her best on her big day." When she said that, Lucy's eyes began to fill with tears. Her little girl had grown up and now she was actually going to get married. Married to a doctor on top of it, she added happily in her head. "I can't wait to see you in my dress."

Lucy would also have loved to see her daughter become a famous model or an actress. She had worked so hard for that goal. If Rosalie only hadn't been so terribly sullen as a child. Lucy was sure that her Rosalie would have made it at least to Miss Junior America. Oh all those missed chances. It was too sad.

Emmett coughed. "Yeah, Mom, you better make sure Rosie doesn't look fat or elsewise the Doc is going to make a run in the last moment."

With a swift movement, Rosalie smacked her older brother against the back of his head. "Stop laughing. It's not funny."

Lucy cleared her throat. "Your sister is right. I don't want any of that behavior at the rehearsal next Saturday."

A flicker of panic spread through Rosalie. For a moment she felt like she couldn't breathe. The wedding was getting closer. She knew that she was supposed to be happy. But she was just nervous. Maybe it was normal to be nervous as a bride to be. She was getting cold feet and she didn't like that feeling one tiny bit. Nervously she started playing around with her engagement ring. She didn't even like diamonds. Rosalie liked sapphires. Diamonds were cold somehow.

"Can I bring my Date to the wedding rehearsal?" Jasper asked, running his fingertip over the edge of his glass.

"You have a date?" Emmett asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Is it a he or she?"

"She," his younger brother answered giving Emmett a dirty look. "Rose, can I bring her?"

Rosalie nodded her head. "Sure, why not. We just need to tell the hotel how many people are going to stay overnight."

"I bring a date too, if Jazz brings someone. Usually I would hook up with one of the bridesmaids but as Vera is pregnant and Bella—"

"You'll stay the fuck away from Bella." Rosalie snapped. "She's not one of your sluts."

Emmett laughed and Lucy rolled her eyes. She knew her kids loved each other. The constant teasing was their way of showing it.

"It's so great that you've found yourself a nice girl, Jazzy." Lucy said, secretly relieved that her youngest son's gay phase seemed to be over now. "Where did you meet her?"

"Asylum." Jasper mumbled, stuffing some fries between his lips. "I met her at the asylum."

"Well, a chick must be crazy if she agreed to go out with you." Emmett chuckled.

"She's not a patient there." Jasper sighs. "Alice was there for Professor Hunter's lecture course just like I was. I poured coffee over her shoes accidentally. Did you know that there are shoes out there that cost over 300 bucks?"

"Good things are always pricey. Anyway, darling, I'm sure, she's a nice girl. I'm looking forward to meet her." Lucy stated. "Rose, sweetheart, why don't you help me with the dessert now?" she asked, standing up from her chair. "I bought some fresh pineapple."

Rosalie hated pineapple. The only fruits she liked were red apples and strawberries. She was sure that Lucy knew about that. Still, she forced her lips into a smile before she followed her mother into the kitchen.

"Mom, I'm getting really nervous about the wedding." Rosalie said, while she pulled out some plates. "Maybe we should wait until next year."

The knife Lucy was holding slide through the pineapple in front of her. Was Rosalie having second thoughts? If, yes she needed to do something against it.

"Darling, that's perfectly normal. Every bride feels like this before she gets married."

Rosalie held up the first plate so that Lucy could put a slice of pineapple on it. "It's so soon. Everyone says that."

"Who is _everyone_?" Lucy snarled. "If luck comes to you, you need to hold on to it and don't push it away."

She took a deep breath and sighed. "I wish your father would still be here. Seeing you getting married was his greatest wish."

It was right then that Rosalie knew she had no way out of the wedding. You can't disappoint your dead father like that, can you?

xxxx

Bella had spent a very boring morning and most of the afternoon scanning a never ending pile of old police records. The mindless work gave her too much time to think about things Bella didn't want to think about.

In her head, she replayed the scene again and again. Rosalie's soft caress on her lips, how her best friend had pulled her closer and then…nothing. And it was good that nothing had happened. Experimenting with your friends was something okay to do when you were still a teenager. But she and Rose were both adults. None of them had ever been interested in women. Bella couldn't imagine any woman to be prettier than her best friend. A shiver went down Bella's spine when she remembered how it had felt like to have her hands on Rosalie's breasts. They had felt soft and full and simply perfect.

The tripping of heels on the linoleum floor interrupted Bella's day dreaming.

"Can I help you, Ma'am?" she asked, looking up from her desk. The woman in front of her was pretty. Pretty, in the nerdy bookworm kind of way, not in the way Rosalie was beautiful. Rose, oh, why couldn't she stop thinking about her at all?

Pushing her white-framed glasses up a bit higher, the tall woman cleared her throat. "I'm here to press charges. Someone has smeared something all over my car."

Bella stood up. "I'm very sorry to hear that. Let me pull up the necessary form. It must be over here somewhere."

She pulled the sheet of paper out and started nibbling on the end of her pen. "I need your personal information first."

"My name is Angela. Angela Weber. Look, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come here. The kids probably didn't mean to do any harm. I don't want them to get into trouble."

"Kids?" Bella asked, scrawling down Angela's name on the paper. "You think some kids did it?"

"Being a teacher doesn't exactly make you popular." Angela stated with a embarrassed smile on her heart-shaped face. "Today was my first day. Maybe this was supposed to be a little welcome joke?"

"Damaging other people's property is not a joke." Bella said. "Did you bring the car here with you? I'd like to take a look at how bad it is."

Walking outside, Bella tried to remember if she had ever played any jokes to her teachers during her school years. She couldn't remember it.

"See," Angela mumbled, pointing towards the left side of her Toyota. "There it is. _Coach Heartless_. I've never been called heartless before in my life."

Bella couldn't suppress a giggle. It was highly unprofessional and she knew it. "I'm sorry. Let's take a picture for evidence and then we can try to get off the paint."

A few minutes later the red color that had been smeared on Angela Weber's car had been washed off without leaving any traces. Bella almost felt like she had known the shy, young woman all her life. Angela was the kind of person who tended to tell you a bit too much too soon. Bella had learned that she was divorced, saving up for a laser surgery to fix her eyes and had just moved to Forks to start over new. Starting over new was something Bella could rely to.

"I'm sorry. " Angela whispered. "I've been talking and talking, stealing all your precious time."

"That's what we are here for." Bella responded. Technically it was not the job of the local police to listen to people's life stories. Charlie had made it clear to her thought that sometimes talking was everything people needed to feel a little safer. "Let me know if something happens with your car again."

"I will. Thank you for everything, Officer Swan."

When Angela drove off, Bella walked back inside the police department. She sat down at her desk and connected the camera she had taken the pictures with to her laptop.

For a moment she hesitated. Then she opened a new email and typed. "I think that was for meant for you, Couch Heartless." She wrote. "PS: You owe the police of Forks a new can of paint remover. Hugs Bella. PS2: Take care of your sis for me. She's stressing herself with this wedding thing."

Bella hit sent and returned to her never-ending work of scanning and more scanning. Charlie owed her big for letting her do this stupid work. Grabbing the next envelope in the box, she realized it was empty. Great, now she would end up looking for missing files too.

Turning the envelope around to take a closer look, Bella's eyes widened. Officer J. Hale it said. Case closed, read the red seal on top of it.

Poor Hale family, Bella thought, searching through the box. Maybe the content of the envelope had fallen out. "There it is." Bella mumbled, grabbing the blue colored folder. There were pictures in it, several pictures that had been made with a Polaroid camera.

Bella could feel her stomach beginning to heave. Yes, she had seen pictures of dead people before. At the police academy they had gone through several interesting murder cases. She had never seen a man's head blown into pulp, though. Next to Jasper Senior's dead body was a bloody footprint. How much easier would it have made Charlie's work if they had found a fingerprint instead?

She scanned the pictures and sighed deeply. How much did Rosalie and her family know about Jasper's death, Bella wondered.

"Pearl-earring." The young police officer muttered. "The record states they've found a pearl-earring at the crime scene."

Looking down at the Polaroid of the footprint again, she shook her head. The footprint was definitely that of a man. "Why hasn't anyone noticed that before?" Bella called out in surprise. "There is no way this footprint and that earring belong to the same person."


	11. Chapter 11

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] I want to thank all of you for the great response on the last chapter. It has received the most reviews so far. Your support makes me feel loved. Also, thanks to those of you who sent virtual hugs or ice-cream.

Today's chapter is dedicated to my readers **HomebyTwilight** and **NoPros**. I hope you'll like it.

_****10***_

This is getting ridiculous. Bella reproached herself while she checked the price tag on the pink dress in her hands. No matter how hard she tried to, she couldn't manage to stop thinking about Rosalie. How could you know someone almost all your life and suddenly see that person in a completely different light?

"Mommy, can I have the dress?" Resha asked impatiently. "Please! It's so pretty."

It's pretty pricey too, Bella thought with a deep sigh. Still, she didn't manage to tell her daughter no. She didn't want to make the girl feel like she couldn't have as much as other children with both parents. It wasn't Resha's fault that things between Bella and her ex hadn't worked out.

Bella decided that she would rather wear one of her old dresses to the wedding instead of getting something new herself, if only the child was happy. The new dress would mean more to Resha than it would mean to her.

"Fine, I'll buy it." Bella told her daughter. "But you don't get to wear it to school. It's for special occasions only."

"Like Rosalie's wedding? Can I wear it to the wedding?" The little girl asked, taking a silver-colored plastic tiara from a shelf. It looked like it wasn't real. She had seen much prettier ones in the glass cabinet in Lucy's house. You couldn't buy those though. You needed to win them. If only she knew how to win a tiara. With one on your head you had to feel like a real princess. There couldn't be anything better than feeling like a princess.

The mentioning of Rosalie's upcoming wedding didn't exactly manage to improve Bella's mood. She was getting angry at herself. It was not okay to have those kinds of thoughts about your best friend. It was especially not okay to have those thoughts about a best friend who was about to get married.

"Mommy, are you going to get married too?" Resha wanted to know when she and Bella made their way out of the Mall again. Bella didn't like shopping trips too much. Still, she had treated herself to a new pair of sling pumps on sale that would look nice with her black dress. Rosalie had insisted on her buying it last year. She had told Bella that it made her look a bit like Audrey Hepburn. Bella could almost feel Rosalie's finger in her neck pushing up the zipper of the dress, when she thought about it. "You look so sexy in this." Her friend had whispered softly.

The memory made Bella's skin tingle with excitement. There had been thousand situations like that one. Now, Bella was starting see them in a different light. Crap, was she secretly gay and hadn't noticed it before. No, that couldn't be, could it?

"Mommy, I don't want a Stepdaddy. They are evil."

Bella fixed the seatbelt around Resha's body and cleared her throat. "Who told you that? It's not true."

"I still don't want one. I want Daddy to come here and live with us and Grandpa."

For a moment Bella imagined Tyler and Charlie together under one roof. It wouldn't end well. She was sure about that.

Taking a deep breathe, Bella sat down next to Resha on the backseat of the car. "Sweetie, I'm sorry but Daddy isn't going to live with us anymore."

"Why?"

How are you supposed to explain a break-up between adults to a six-year-old? With her decision to leave Tyler Bella had not only changed her own life but Resha's on top of it.

"Look, sweetie, sometimes…when adults fight a lot, it is better for them to live in separate homes."

Resha nodded her head. Maybe her parents didn't like each other anymore because of her? She had heard her name more than once when she had overheard them fighting with each other. The thought made her little heart feel way too heavy in her chest.

"Hey," Bella whispered. "Don't make such a sad face. We both still love you." She leaned over and pressed her lips gently against Resha's forehead. "Let's go home now. Grandpa is probably already waiting for us."

Unfortunately, it was not Charlie who was waiting for them when they made it home to the Swan's house. Casually, his arms crossed in front of his chest, Tyler walked up and down the drive-way.

Crap, Bella thought. She didn't need to have another discussion with him now.

"Daddy!" Resha called out, wrapping her arms around his leg. "Did you come to visit us?"

"Kind of, baby girl, kind of. Why don't you go and wait a moment inside. I need to talk to your mother."

"You're not going to go away without saying goodbye?" the girl asked worriedly. "I need to show you the picture of my kitten."

When Resha disappeared inside the house, Bella spoke up. "Why are you here, Tyler?"

"Why are you so bitchy to me? Can't I come and visit my kid?"

Bella pressed her lips together, swallowing back a mean comment. She really didn't want to take the custody thing to court. But Tyler needed to learn that he couldn't just show up when it pleased him to.

"Mom was furious when she had to bail me out." Tyler stated. "She said I should try to get custody for Resha myself."

The wave of anger that spread through Bella was strong. She could feel her face turning red. Was this supposed to be a joke? No one was going to take her child away from her. Tyler couldn't keep a goldfish alive, let alone a human being.

"So, your mother thinks you should." She snapped. "What makes Kadesha think that I'm a bad mother?"

Tyler held up his hands in an appeasing gesture. "Cherie, it's not like that. Mom just thinks it would be better for Resha to be around her own people."

"Her _own_ people? What am I? A stranger?"

"See, Mom told me, you'd react like that."

"I don't give a shit what your mother said. Now, piss off before I call Charlie to come and arrest you again. I'm sure your mother wouldn't like that too much."

Bella's hands were quivering when she walked inside the house. She had never really gotten along well with Tyler's mother, but this was just too much. Tyler was only going to get custody for Resha over her dead body.

"Where is Daddy?" Resha asked. "He promised to look at my picture."

"Your father had to leave." Bella pressed out. "Why don't you show the picture to Mommy?"

"Don't want to." The girl murmured sadly. "I''ll go to my room."

Bella could feel her heart clasping painfully in her chest. She had vowed to herself that Resha wasn't going to suffer under the separation from her father. Crap.

She went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. It was the last rest in the bottle she had opened with Rosalie. After taking a sip from the wine, she dialed her best friend's number.

"Hale."

"Hey, Beautiful, it's me."

"Bella! Oh, it's so good to hear your voice. My mother is going to drive me nuts with the wedding preparations."

Bella sipped on the wine again. "Maybe you should tell her to slow down a bit?"

"Can't." Rosalie sighed into the receiver.

"I don't know why you are always so chicken around Lucy. That's so not you."

"It's complicated. My Mom only has my best interest in mind."

Yes, sure, Bella thought, biting back a sarcastic comment. The only interest Lucy had on her mind was her own. She wanted Rosalie to go through with this wedding because that was what she, Lucy, wanted. If she'd like to have a doctor in her family so much, Lucy should just get married to one herself. Rose would not be happy with Carlisle. She would never be happy with someone that she couldn't be completely honest with.

That was not what Bella told Rose, though, when she spoke up again. Instead she tried to be a bit more supportive. "Don't let yourself pressure into something. I'm here for you. You know?"

"Yes, I know. Thank you, Bella. I want to get married. I'm just nervous how everything is going to work out."

Bella gulped down the rest of her wine, enjoying the pleasant warmth it filled her stomach with.

"So, the rehearsal is going to be next Saturday?"

"Yes, it is. You and Charlie are coming too. Aren't you? I really want to have some familiar faces around. It will make me feel safer."

Oh Rose, Bella thought, I always want to make you feel safe. "I'll come to hold your nervous bridal hand. Charlie has to stay here in Forks though. Someone has to run the station."

"Thank you, girl, you are a life saver. Emmett can take you. He's coming by car. Look, I hate to ask you that but are you going to bring a date with you? Mom needs to know for the seating arrangement."

"Whom would I date?" Bella snarled, thinking in anger about her annoying ex-boyfriend. "I'm done with that shit." The only person Bella had any kind of romantic feelings for right now was Rosalie. It was probably because she was lonely, even when she didn't like to admit that to herself.

"Oh, Bella, sweetie, don't say that. You are too pretty to stay on your own forever."

"It doesn't even matter. So, to come back to your question, Beautiful…I'll bring Resha with me. She can be my date."

"Great. Carlisle's niece will be there too. They can play together."

Bella cleared her throat. "Asshole showed up here again today. I felt tempted to shoot him."

"Don't do that." Rosalie laughed. "He's not worth going to jail."

Bella chuckled bitterly. "Who says I'd be going to jail for killing him? I know how to cover my traces. Securing of evidence was my favorite subject at the police academy."

"I promise to be your Alibi anytime you need me to. Now, what did he do to make you angry?"

"His mother that bitch told him he should try getting custody for Resha. Can you believe that? Apparently, it would be better for the child to be around her _own_ people. Her own people…what kind of racist shit it that supposed to be?"

"Tyler needs to find a cliff to jump off from." Rose snapped. "You are a wonderful mother. Let no one tell you different."

"Thank you, Rose. If I'm a good mother, why don't I feel like I'm one? Resha is crying again because she heard me and asshole fighting. That's horrible!"

"Maybe you need to explain the break-up to her again. She's a smart girl and will learn to understand."

"Yeah, maybe you are right."

"I wish I was there to hug you. God, you really should move back to Seattle again."

"You could move to Forks." Bella suggested, leaning back against the doorframe.

"Not really." Rosalie sighed. "Goodbye, honey. Take care. I love you."

"Love you more," Bella mumbled before she hung up and put her empty glass in the sink. She pulled a package of Oreo cookies out of the cupboards and went upstairs.

Resha had pulled her blanket over her head, only a few brown curls were sticking out at the top.

"Hey, sweetie, I'm sorry." Bella whispered, stroking gently over the girl's back. Resha lifted her head. "Go away."

"Are you sure? I brought cookies with me to share with you."

"Kay." The little girl sniffed, wiping her running nose at the back of her hand. "Can I have just the filling? It's my favorite."

Bella pulled down the blanket and snuggled against the girl from behind. "I'm really sorry."

"Is Daddy going to come back?"

"No, he won't. Mommy and he will figure something out when he can come and visit you. How does that sound like?"

"I don't know. Can't he just move in here with us?"

"No." Bella whispered, pushing a tangled curl behind Resha's ear. "But I can understand why you want that. I wanted the same when my parents got divorced."


	12. Chapter 12

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to a brand new chapter. Thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a comment. I love hearing your thoughts on my project. Some of you seem to really start hating on Lucy. Let's see how you feel about the new characters in this chapter.

Today's update is dedicated to **SOFisticated **and **Dangerous3Lover**.

_****11****_

Emmett Hale was a guy who had always known exactly who he was and what he wanted to be in life. But things had been shattered irrevocably for him. From the outside he was still the very same happy-go-lucky person, he used to be. Inside, though, where no one could take a closer look things looked differently.

"This is the last time, we're stopping." He stated, killing the engine of his car. "How often can someone need to pee?"

Bella sighed and stepped out, stretching her legs. She hadn't slept well last night and getting up early hadn't helped either.

"Maybe we could eat something here as well." She suggested. "Resha, sweetie, are you hungry?"

The girl nodded. "Can we have fries?"

Emmett laughed. "Fries are the only thing at places like this that you can actually eat, kiddo. Always remember that."

Bella wasn't too keen on letting her daughter eat junk food but she was too tired and too hungry herself now to mind. Five minutes later, she was nibbling half-heartedly on an awful cheeseburger. She should have taken the fries too, like Emmett and Resha.

"This wedding is a joke." Emmett mumbled, stuffing a few ketchup-covered fries in his mouth. Since he had stopped training regularly his weight had gone up several pounds. Still, he was far from being fat. Being a tall guy had its advantages. "Rosie is going to regret it."

Bella took another bite from her burger. "Did you tell her that?"

"Of course, but Rose doesn't listen to me because she's a stupid bitch sometimes."

"Emmett said a bad word." Resha reproached. "Mommy what's a bitch? I know you are not allowed to say that but what does it mean?"

"Nothing," Bella snapped, giving Emmett who was sitting across from her a dirty look. She hated it when he used this kind of language in front of the child. "Do you want to go to the restrooms with me?"

"Don't have to." The girl mumbled, slurping on her milkshake.

"If she blows in the car, you'll pay for it." Emmett warned Bella. Then, he cleared his throat and sighed. "Can't you talk to Rose? I mean you and her do this girly talk crap all the time."

"Don't say crap when Resha can hear you, okay?" Bella told him. "I've told Rosalie she should give herself more time, but she's stubborn." And your mother isn't actually helping things either, she added silently in her head.

"Don't get me wrong. Carlisle is an alright guy." Emmett said, swirling one of the fries on his plate around in the puddle of ketchup. "But he's too old for my sis. This is kind of like fucking a grandpa."

Bella sighed. "Resha, go and wash your hands, sweetie? Okay."

She watched her daughter walk off towards the restrooms before she turned to Emmett. "What part of not talking like that when Resha is around is too much for your brain to grasp it?"

"I'm just saying it like it is." He stated with a smirk on his face. "Can you picture Rose and the Doc getting it on? That's so wrong."

Bella didn't want to imagine Carlisle making love to Rosalie. The thought was not only gross but also stirred some completely ridiculous waves of jealousy inside of her. It was weird because Rosalie had been with so many boyfriends since she and Bella had graduated school. Never before had Bella cared about any of them. Maybe she hadn't cared because none of them had truly meant anything to Rosalie.

With Carlisle it was different. Rosalie had agreed to marry him. There had to be deeper feelings involved.

Deep down in her stomach Bella could sense an unfamiliar discomfort. She didn't like that she was jealous. In her head, she also knew it was not appropriate to feel jealous of Carlisle. Technically, she didn't even have a right to feel that way. The only problem was that her heart didn't seem to get it.

Back in the car, it took about fifteen minutes until Resha started fidgeting around in the backseat. "Mommy, I'm going to be sick."

"Don't let her puke inside the car, Bella." Emmett called out, stepping on the breaks of the car a bit too abruptly. "It's almost new."

He pulled over and pushed poor little Resha out of the car. The girl stumbled, the sudden movement only increasing her nausea. In order to keep herself upright, she grabbed the next thing in front of her and threw up in several heaves.

"Oh my God, that's Chanel. Oh my God. Oh my God, this is so horrible!" the woman who had been sitting on the asphalt of the parking lot, reading a book, called out. A bit of the vomit had ended up on her as well. If she hadn't been so terribly embarrassed, Bella would probably have found the situation funny.

"I'm so sorry, Ma'am. Resha, sweetie, please, sit down. Are you better now?"

"Who cares about your stupid child? This was my Chanel blouse. It's my _only_ Chanel blouse." The woman whined before pulling out some wipes to start a helpless attempt to clean herself up a bit. "This is a disaster!"

Bella sighed. "Look, I'll pay for the dry cleaner."

"YOU DO NOT DRY-CLEAN CHANEL." The woman yelled, her voice a hysterically high-pinched sound now.

"Calm down, Missy. It's just some shirt." Emmett said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Next to him the woman looked like some kind of half-dwarf. She was so small, that even with the stiletto heels she was wearing it didn't look like she could reach to his chest. Emmett had always had a liking for petite women. This one was just a bit too hysterical for him.

"Bella give her a twenty and then we're off again. Thanks to our five pee or not pee breaks, we are already running late."

"Twenty bucks?" half-dwarf snapped angrily. "This is Chanel. I mean, this was Chanel!"

"Ma'am, I'm very sorry." Little Resha whispered. She hated it when people got angry and loud. She hadn't thrown up on the pretty woman on purpose! "I always get sick when I have milkshakes." Resha added in an attempt to apologize. "But milkshakes are so good, aren't they?"

"They are not that good on my two-hundred dollar blouse." The woman stated, grabbing another wipe to rub over the brownish stain. She noticed the tear-filled eyes of the little girl in front of her and it touched her heart. With a sigh, she kneeled down in front of Resha. "I'm sure your Mommy and I can figure something out to solve this mess."

xxxx

Rosalie's nerves were blank. She felt like she was in the middle of a huge crowd, screaming out loudly but nobody was listening. How could she lose the control over her life like this? She felt weak and for Rose, there was nothing worse than feeling weak.

"Are you well, Kitty?" Carlisle asked her, running his thumbs over her exposed neck up to the pair of delicate pearl-earrings. She liked them. Lucy knew her daughter's taste well. "You seem a bit tensed."

"I'm just nervous." Rosalie said, staring at the mirror in front of them. Everything was perfect. She was beautiful and she had a caring fiancé who loved her with all his heart. Why in God's name didn't it feel right to her? Why couldn't she manage to hold those doubts at bay?

"There's no need to be nervous, Kitty. You are going to be the most beautiful bride in the whole wide world."

"Oh, I'm sure, she will." A hoarse voice chuckled behind them. In the mirror Rosalie could see the man's face and shrugged back. He was small for a guy. Her mother who was standing next to him was the same height. His hair was partly grey now, but the thinly moustache was exactly the same since she had seen him the last time.

"There's my little Rosie princess, all grown-up." The man purred, wrapping his arms around Rosalie. Instantly she stiffened. His smell, his smell of too much Aqua Velva made her stomach churn.

"Rose, girl, where are your manners." Lucy nagged. "Aren't you going to introduce Carlisle to Uncle Royce?"

Rosalie grabbed Carlisle's hand in a desperate hope that doing so was going to make her feel safer somehow. It didn't work.

"Hi, I'm Carlisle Cullen." Her fiancé stated, holding out his right hand towards Royce. "It's nice to finally meet someone from Rosalie's family."

"Royce is no family." Rosalie croaked. "Mom, can I speak to you for a moment? We need to arrange the flower bouquets again."

With the last bit of strength, Rosalie could find inside her, she pushed her mother with her into an empty room at the other end of the corridor.

"What kind of behavior is this now?" Lucy snapped. "You were so rude to Royce in front of Carlisle."

"Why is he here?" Rosalie asked. "Don't tell me you that you invited him? God, Mom!"

"Don't raise your voice on me, young lady. Royce was at the bakery when I ordered the cake. I couldn't not invite him."

"It's my wedding. I don't want him here. You know why."

Lucy grabbed her daughter by her shoulders and shook her for a minute. "Don't mention it. We agreed to keep that to ourselves. Haven't we, sweetie?"

"Yes, mother." Rosalie stated, turning her back on Lucy. She was almost out of the door when she turned around again. "It's not my fault what he did to me. Why are you always making me feel like it is?"

With that she rushed out, bumping straight into Bella. "There you are. Hey, what's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost."

"It's nothing." Rosalie whispered. There was no way she could tell Bella about Royce. She couldn't tell anyone about Royce. Not her best friend and not the man she was about to marry soon. Those memories needed to stay locked away deep inside the deepest depth of her soul.

Bella noticed how pale Rosalie was. She wrapped an arm around the beautiful Blonde and maneuvered her outside. There she made her sit down on a little marble bench.

"Should I get you something to drink?" Bella asked. "It might help your nerves."

"I don't want anything right now. Thank you." She leaned her head against Bella's side. "How was your trip?"

"Your brother taught my daughter a new word. It's bitch."

"Crap. He didn't do that on purpose, did he? Emmett never thinks before he speaks."

Bella took Rosalie's hand and rubbed her fingertip over the woman's pearly nail-polish. "I should have gotten a manicure too."

"Your nails are pretty the way they are. Why is it that you don't have to work at all to be so very beautiful?"

"I'm not beautiful." Bella protested. "I'm just plain."

"Maybe you should get your eyes checked. You are stunning. Your skin is like porcelain and any hairdresser would sell his soul to come up with a formula for those shades of chestnut."

"So, basically I'm a pale chick with brown hair. Is that what you are trying to say?"

Rosalie laughed. Very gently, she moved her fingers through Bella's bangs, pushing them out of the brunette forehead. "You don't see yourself the way I see you."

For a moment Rosalie felt that urge again. That deep unbearable urge to touch her lips to Bella's in a passionate kiss. She had dreamed about it. She had thought about it whether she had been awake or not. If you wanted something so much and denied it yourself, didn't that just increase the want for it?

Rosalie's eyes met Bella's. Did she want this kiss as much as she wanted it? Maybe it would feel awkward. Maybe the two of them would laugh about it together. But what if the kiss would mean something? Rosalie was too nervous to allow herself to think about that.

"Rosalie, what are you doing there with Bella?" Lucy called out, stepping towards her daughter. "I was looking for you. Your brother's girlfriend is here now. "

Lucy coughed nervously. "I was so glad the boy has finally overcome this you-know-what phase. But this girl…I don't think Alice's a good choice."

Rosalie stood up from the bench. "I'm sure she's nice."

"Nice, nice, nice, who cares about being nice?" Lucy mumbled. "When a woman shows up to a wedding rehearsal in a wet top and smelling like puke, that doesn't exactly give the first impression you want to give."


	13. Chapter 13

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N]

Thanks for all your reviews. I love to read all your thoughts on my little Rosella fic here. Your input makes this whole project a lot more fun for me. Let's see how things turn out. Shall we?

Today's chapter is dedicated to Leslie for always having my back. I cherish your friendship, girl.

****12****

There were days when everything went wrong from start to finish. Today seemed to be one of them for Alice Brandon. The shower she had taken had washed off the repulsive stench of vomit and milkshake but Alice still didn't feel much better.

"Nobody takes as long to shower as you do." Jasper stated, standing up from the edge of the bed.

Alice started fidgeting around with the zipper of her dress. She had preferred wearing her Chanel blouse for the dinner tonight. That blouse made her look a bit older and way more sophisticated.

"Come here." Jasper told her. "I'll zip you up." His right hand rested on her narrow hips while he pushed up the zipper very carefully. "This is a nice dress."

"I hope no one is going to puke on it." Alice said. "That was so gross."

Jasper chuckled. "I'm sorry. The thought of you sitting around, getting puked on out of nowhere. That's just too funny, Darlin'."

"Don't call me Darlin'. I don't like it." The dainty woman snarled at him, narrowing her eyes angrily.

He kissed her cheek and rubbed his thumb down her neck. "You had your hair cut too."

"It looks better this way. Don't you think?" she asked, putting a pair of dangling silver bracelets on.

"It's pretty. Are we ready to go now or should we go through anything again?"

She shook her head. "Not necessary. You mother doesn't know it yet but she's going to love me."

"Fantastic. That's all I want. Why don't you go downstairs and have a drink? I'll be with you in a minute."

Grabbing a scarf to wrap it around her shoulders, Alice walked out of the room. She liked having a drink before dinner. It would help her nerves. Those weren't the best in the last time. Unfortunately drinking was out of the question for her. At least it was until she could do that goddamn test…

On the nightstand in the hotel room, Jasper's cell started vibrating. He almost dropped it, his hands quivering with anticipation. Finally! A message after all those days of torturous silence.

"I hate you for being a coward." The text read. "But I will still love you forever."

Jasper put his head between his hands and sighed. He had fucked up so badly. Now, how was he supposed to get out of this mess?

Meanwhile, Alice had made it downstairs to the lobby of the hotel. She cringed when she saw Bella and the little puke girl sitting at one of the tables.

Her appetite must have had returned because the girl was chatting happily while she dipped some chicken nuggets into ketchup. At least there didn't seem to be a milkshake involved this time around.

"Hey there," Bella greeted Alice, waving her hand. "Do you want to sit with us?"

"Why not," Alice mumbled, pulling out the chair between Resha and her mother. "How's your stomach doing, young lady?"

"I'm sorry for puking on you." Resha said, slurping on her soda. "I was really sick."

Alice's lips twitched into a smile. "I accept your apology. Your Mommy is going to buy me a new blouse and everything is going to be fine again. Won't it?"

Bella nodded her head. "It might take a while for me to pay you back but that's okay, I hope."

"Of course," Alice assured her. "I don't mind."

"Thanks." Bella whispered. She hated that money was so tight at the moment. If only Asshole would man up and start paying child support, like he was supposed to. Trying to get custody? My ass…

"Have you known Jasper's family for long?" Alice asked, playing around on her bracelets. "This wedding is going to be big. Do you like big weddings?"

"Rose and I are very close friends since we were kids." Bella said. "To answer your other question, the answer is no. I don't like big weddings." I especially don't like this particular wedding, Bella added in her head. If only she could bring Rosalie back to her senses. Cancelling the wedding would make Rose unhappy though. But maybe going through with it would only make her more miserable in the long run. God, this situation really sucked badly.

"I don't like big weddings either." Alice stated. "If I get married I want a small, intimate ceremony with only the people I'm closest to."

"I don't think, I'll ever get married." Bella told Alice frankly. "Why would anyone need a piece of paper to tell you to whom you belong?"

"That's not what it's about." Alice said. "Marriage is a good thing if it's between the right people. Just because some marriages are meant to fail doesn't mean that goes for all of them."

A little blonde girl rushed towards the table they were sitting on. "Come with me, Resha. Royce's making animals from balloons. It's so cool."

"Mommy, can I go with her?" Resha asked, dropping her fork on the plate. "Pleaase?"

"It's fine. You can go and play with Jane." Bella said, wiping Resha's ketchup-smeared mouth with a napkin before the girl rushed off.

"Cute little thing." Alice stated as soon as Resha was out of sight. "I'm sorry I was so rude before. I was overreacting."

"I'm sorry my daughter puked on you. I shouldn't have allowed her that milkshake."

"It's probably not that easy telling your kids no when they want something, right?"

Bella nodded. "I'm always the strict one and her Dad is the good parent who allows her everything."

Alice ordered a glass of white wine that she didn't touch at all when the waitress placed it in front of her. "Are you and your ex divorced?"

"Separated, Tyler and I never got married. Like I said before, I don't actually see much use in the whole concept."

Alice rolled her fingertip over the edge of her glass. "But weddings are so romantic. Don't you think?"

"I'm not an expert when it comes to romance." Bella confessed. "Tyler was my first boyfriend. Then the accident with Resha happened and I got stuck with him."

Alice cleared her throat. "Maybe you'll meet someone else soon. Weddings are usually good to find dates. My parents met at a wedding. Isn't that romantic?"

Bella lifted her glass to her lips. This was her second glass of wine. There wasn't enough alcohol in the whole world to drown her inappropriate thoughts about her best friend.

"I'm not interested in dating anyone at the moment." Bella stated. "Well, there is someone I like but things are very complicated."

Crap, why are you telling her that now? Bella reproached herself. Are you already drunk or just stupid?

Alice straightened her back. "Complicated love interests are such a sad thing. Love is supposed to be easy, isn't it?"

"I'm not in love." Bella told Alice quickly. "It's just…there is this…friend, a close friend and recently I've started to feel this pull."

"You mean like you are attracted to him sexually now? That's perfectly normal."

Yes, it probably would be, if Rosalie happened to have a dick, Bella thought.

"There you are, Darlin'." Jasper called out, hugging Alice from behind. "Why did you have chicken wings? We are going to have dinner in like five minutes."

"Resha was hungry." Bella told him. "Your new girlfriend is nice. You should try not to mess things up."

xxxx

Rosalie had been looking forward to getting married since she was a little girl. Again and again, she had sat in her parents' living room, looking at their wedding picture for hours. This was what she wanted. Rose wanted someone to love her as much as her father had loved her Mom. Carlisle was meant to be that man for her. Still, things didn't feel right. No matter how often she told herself that everything was going to be fine, she still felt like running away.

"Isn't she the most lovely person, you have ever met, Marcus?" Carlisle stated, running his hand over Rosalie's fingertips. "I'm very lucky she has decided to give an old man like me a chance."

"You are not old, brother. " Marcus mumbled, petting his daughter's head. "Jane, honey, put that balloon away now. We're about to eat."

Minutes later when the little girl pressed her fork on the piece of meat on her plate, she frowned. "There is lots of red juice coming from my steak. Daddy, that's gross."

"Eat up." Jane's father demanded. "You've promised me to be a big girl and behave."

"Marcus, don't force the kid to eat when she doesn't like it." Rosalie stated. Maybe she and Carlisle should think of a different meal for the children to eat at the wedding. Bella would never get Resha into trying oysters.

Longingly, Bella gazed over to the other side of the table where her best friend was sitting between Emmett and Jasper's new girlfriend. Rose would rather sit with them instead of with her mother and Carlisle's family. His brother was the most depressed person, she had ever met. His wife's dead must have been really hard for him. There couldn't be anything worse than to lose the person you loved most.

Rosalie watched how Bella threw back her head and laughed over something Emmett had whispered into her ear. She really needs to start wearing her hair down more often, Rosalie thought. Bella was so beautiful. Rosalie had always thought her best friend to be pretty. Now, though, she couldn't stop noticing how Bella's dress hugged her chest deliciously tight. She could remember, talking Bella into buying it. Rose could also remember how soft the skin on Bella's back had felt like when she had helped Bella to zip it up.

"Can't believe my little Rosie princess is getting married," Royce chuckled, taking a sip from the half-empty glass of wine in front of him. "She used to be my little princess and now, she's all grown up."

Lucy swallowed the piece of filet mignon in her mouth and laughed a fake laughter. "Royce would have probably liked for her to stay a child forever. Carlisle, you need to know that Royce was her manager. My Rosie was the best little beauty pageant he ever trained. Wasn't she Royce?"

"Like a dream come true." Royce stated, nodding his head eagerly. Then, his eyes moved over to the little blonde girl that was sitting next to Rosalie's joke of a husband-to-be. Adorable, he thought, running his tongue over his moustache to lick off a bit of sauce.

Rosalie's stomach heaved. To have Royce here, to have him gaze at Carlisle's poor little niece like that. It was just too much for her to handle. She pressed her hand against her mouth and jumped from her chair, barely making it to the restrooms of the restaurant.

Someone grabbed her hair, holding it tightly together in her neck, while Rosalie threw up. It had been so long since she had felt as dirty like this.

"Breathe, Beautiful. Deep breaths, that helps with the nausea."

Rosalie plopped back against Bella's arms. Her friend handed her some toilet paper to clean her mouth. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize for being sick." Bella stated. She stood up to rinse some paper towels under the faucet. Then, she pressed them gently against Rosalie's forehead. "Is it better now?"

Rosalie nodded weakly. "Can you bring me to my room? I don't feel like making it through this dinner."

"Of course, honey. God, you are so pale. Do you want me to bring Carlisle? Maybe you need a doctor?"

"I don't have anything broken." Rosalie whispered. "I'm just…it's just…too much. Everything is too much."

Twenty minutes later, when Bella had tugged in Rosalie in the wooden-framed queen-sized bed, she went downstairs again. Rosalie's nerves were blank. Bella knew something like that was going to happen. Rose always tried to please her annoying mother and then things ended with her breaking from all the pressure Lucy put on her daughter.

Leaning back against the wall behind her, Bella closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. Tomorrow, she was going to talk to Rose. Sometimes as a best friend you needed to tell your friend things she was going to be furious at you for.

"Is Rosalie feeling better?" Alice asked. "At least, she didn't throw up on me too."

"Will I forever be the Mom of the child who threw up on you for the rest of the future?" Bella snapped angrily. "My daughter is six. She has travel sickness and a dairy allergy. Get over it."

The pearl-earrings, she had helped Rosalie to take out, fell down on the carpet. Bella and Alice simultaneously kneeled down to pick them up again. "Wow, those are amazing. Cartier still makes the most beautiful sets of pearl-earrings."

"You can tell what brand they are?"

Alice smiled. "I could tell you a lot more about them. Sorry, I'm kind of biased when it comes to jewelry. My father owns a shop."

"I see." Bella murmured, rubbing her chin with her thumb. "I'm curious. Could you do that with every set of pearl-earrings?"

"Sure, I think so. Why are you asking?"

Bella cleared her throat. She needed to be careful what to tell Alice in order not to endanger any of her investigations. Charlie had told her to let the dead rest in peace but didn't Jasper's family deserve to see his killer getting punished?

"If I'd email you a picture of some old pearl-earrings, Alice, is there any chance you could manage to figure out, where they were made?"


	14. Chapter 14

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Today's chapter is dedicated to my readers **jm1708** and **Crazy Heart 101**

****13****

Little Resha had found her personal goddess. Well, as much as a feisty nine-year-old can be a role model of any kind for a younger girl. Jane knew all the important things in life there were to know. She had learned a lot of bad words from her older sisters and was willing to share her knowledge. She knew how to tie Resha's shoe laces so that she wouldn't trip over them anymore. The best though was that Jane had managed to break the candy machine in the basement of the hotel by kicking against its side.

Now, she and Resha were sitting in a corner of the hotel lobby, sharing their treasure.

"Is this stealing what we did?" Resha asked, stuffing a mars bar between her lips. "I don't want to go to jail."

"Silly thing, they don't send kids to jail. Can I have the other half of your Mars? I like caramel."

Resha wasn't completely convinced what Jane told her was true. Maybe, she should ask her mother, just to make sure. But, no, maybe she shouldn't. Her mother didn't like her eating candy. She would be angry if she'd find out.

"Are you adopted?" Jane asked, cuddling a dog-shaped blue balloon against her chest. If only her father would allow her to get a real dog. She needed to ask remember asking him often enough.

"What does adopted mean?" Resha asked back, licking some melted chocolate from her fingers.

"It means that your real Mommy didn't want you." Jane explained. "Sometimes people don't want their children and then you give them to other people."

Resha's eyes widened. That sounded so horrible. How could her Mommy not be her real Mommy?

"My aunt Esme has a child like you. She's adopted her from Africa."

"I don't want to be adopted!" Resha protested. "I want to be a real child."

"Resha, what are you doing here?" Bella told her daughter, rushing towards Jane and Resha. She had woken up with an unpleasant headache, noticing with horror that the space next to her was empty in the bed.

"Didn't I tell you not to go anywhere without telling me?" She snapped at Resha. "This hotel is huge. You might get lost."

Resha cringed. "But I was with Jane."

It was then, that Bella saw the pile of candy bars between the girls. "Who gave that to you?"

"We found it." Jane stated. "When you find something you get to keep it."

Bella shook her head and reached out her hand to Resha. "Come with me. Let's see if the restaurant has already opened for breakfast."

In another hotel room a young psychology student was about to lose her nerves. Alice had managed to squeeze out enough pee for four pregnancy tests. All of them were positive. Tiny little pink dots, blue circles and green crosses that all stated the same thing. She was pregnant.

Fuck my life. The young woman thought, throwing the tests into the trash underneath the sink. She splashed some water into her face and wiped away the trails of smeared mascara with a towel.

When she tiptoed out of the bathroom, she saw that Jasper was still fast asleep in the bed. Alice considered waking him, but then she decided against it. Instead she put on a white sundress and went downstairs to take a little walk in the hotel garden.

Pregnant! She still couldn't wrap her head around it. They had been careful. Well, they had been careful most of the times. Apparently that hadn't been enough. Damn it.

On a little bench, she sat down and started plucking the petals from a flower that had grown through the asphalt. She wondered when would be the right moment to break the daddy news to the father to be. J. would freak. That much Alice was sure about.

"Good morning, half-dwarf." A deep voice greeted her from behind. Alice crossed her arms in front of her chest before she turned around.

"Morning to you too," she greeted Jasper's older brother. Emmett's shirt was covered in sweat. The muscles in his arms flexed when he raised them to run his fingers through short cropped black curls.

"Let me guess, Jazz is still sleeping. My brother isn't exactly an early riser."

Alice nodded her head. "I don't mind. Why are you up so early?"

"I went for a run." Emmett explained. "I run every morning. Old habits die hard."

"You used to play football, didn't you?" Alice asked, trying to make some small talk.

He sat down next to her and pressed a few buttons on the pulse monitor around his wrist. His times were shitty. It was no wonder they were shitty the way he had stuffed down junk food and beer in the last weeks.

"Yeah, I used to play. But now my shoulder is fucked up and my career is over."

"Career? I've seen you play before. You weren't that good."

"Excuse me, half-dwarf. What would you know about sports? It hasn't got anything to do with fashion crap."

She sat up straight. Sitting up straight always made you look at least two inches taller. Alice remembered her Mammy telling her that over and over again. "Sometimes I watch Games with my Dad. He said you were bad. Strong yes but too slow."

"I'm not slow."

"Of course you are. Why do you think that other player from the Bears ran you over?"

Emmett knew that it was off limits to punch a girl. It was especially off limits to punch a girl who was so delicate like Alice. But damn it, that chick was getting on his nerves.

"Did I say something wrong?" she asked when she saw the pissed-off expression on Emmett's face. "I'm sorry. I always say what I'm thinking. Sometimes that's a mistake."

"You're the first person apart from my former Coach who has dared to tell me the truth. Most others just tell me how sorry they are that I can't play anymore."

Alice cleared her throat. "I should go back. Maybe Jasper has woken up now."

"How long have you known my brother? He's basically comatose before nine a.m."

"Yeah, I know." Alice said quickly, staring down at her red painted toe nails.

"So, that silly little blouse you wore yesterday, actually costs two hundred bucks?" Emmett asked, searching for something in the pockets of his shorts.

"Chanel is never silly. It's divine. And yes, it did cost two-hundred bucks." It was only a gift, she added sadly in her head.

"Here. I hope you don't mind cash." Emmett stated, shoving the money between Alice's hands.

"You don't have to. Bella said she's going to pay me back."

"Aren't you ashamed to take that much money from a poor single mother? Anyway, I want to pay you because I rather have your Chanel ruined instead of my leather seats."

xxxx

Carlisle stared out of the window in his brother's hotel suite. He hadn't slept well this night. Rosalie's behavior was starting to worry him. Maybe the big wedding was making her nervous. Jeez, it was making him nervous. If there was only a thing he could do to make Rosalie feel better.

"I didn't expect you to get married again." Marcus stated, playing around with the two wedding rings on his left hand. "Especially not to such a young woman like Rosalie," he added after a moment. "Is this some kind of early midlife crisis?"

Carlisle shrugged his shoulders. "It's been five years since the divorce. I'm supposed to move on. Anyone does."

"I don't." Marcus mumbled. "When my Didyme died, all happiness has been ripped away from me."

"You still have the girls." Carlisle reminded his brother. "Jane is a little handful though."

"That she is. That she is." Marcus chuckled. "Are you and Rosalie planning on having kids together?"

"Sure, I'd love that." Carlisle stated. He grabbed the picture Marcus had placed on his nightstand. The four of them had been like joined at the hips at the time it had been taken. At first it had felt awkward to him to have his two foster siblings fall in love. But Didyme had been so good for Marcus. Nobody could deny that.

Next to his sister, her copper hair pulled back into a sloppy ponytail was his ex. How different Esme was from Rosalie. Maybe that was the reason why he had fallen for the young Blonde. He could never be with anyone who would remind him of what he had lost thanks to his own mistakes. Well, there was no use to cry over spilled milk. Life had to go on and so would he…

xxxx

Bella had put Resha back to bed. The girl always got tired when you let her eat too much candy stuff.

"Stay here." Bella had whispered, leaning down to plant a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Mommy will be right back."

In her room, Rosalie had finally fallen asleep after tossing around for ours. She had considered simply packing her things and make a run. When someone knocked on the door, she woke up on a pile of clothes.

"Hey, did I wake you up?" Bella asked, walking in. "I just came to check on you."

"I'm fine." Rosalie lied. "Why don't you sit down? I'll just go and freshen up a bit."

Bella did like Rosalie told her. She sighed, trying to prepare herself for the upcoming conversation with her best friend. Maybe Rosalie was going to hate her for it.

"Does it show that I didn't sleep?" Rosalie asked, when she returned from the bathroom. "I tried to cover it up with concealer."

"Beautiful, you don't need to cover up anything." Bella whispered. She petted the place next to her on the bed. "Come here. You and I need to talk."

"Are you mad at me?" Rose whispered. "I feel like everyone is about to get really mad at me."

"I guess, with everyone you mean Lucy." Bella stated. "Look, Rose. This is your life. Not your mother's."

"Mom only has—"

"You best interest in mind, I know." Bella took Rosalie's hand between hers. "But sometimes that just isn't enough."

Rosalie bit the inside of her mouth. "Please, don't say that. I need you to support me. I need you to help me make it through this wedding. It's what I want."

Bella tightened her hold around Rosalie's fingers. "I love you. That's why I need to tell you the truth whether you want to hear it or not."

"Tell me what truth?"

"The truth you already know. This wedding is a mistake. You need to start admitting it."

"Get out. I don't need you to tell me what to do or what to feel. You know what? I hate the way you're making me feel!"

"How am I making you feel?" Bella asked, placing her free hand on Rosalie's shoulder. "Angry?"

"Yes, right now, you're making me feel angry." Rosalie said. "But apart from that you are making me feel a lot of things I don't want to feel."

Bella's fingertips stroked down Rosalie's slender arm very lightly. "You are making me feel things I don't want to feel either."

"Like what?"

"I'm worried because you are about to make the biggest mistake of your life. What sense is there in a marriage when you are having so many doubts to begin with?"

"Mom says every bride gets cold feet before her big day."

"I don't give a crap about what your mother says. She doesn't really know you. Lucy only knows what you are allowing her to see."

"You are being rude."

"I'm sorry that there is no nicer way to tell you. I can handle you being angry at me for it. What I can't handle is you making yourself miserable."

Rosalie's bottom lip started to quiver. "You can't know that."

"Yes, I can, Beautiful. I can because I know you better than anyone else and still love you."

Bella's heart was in her mouth. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against Rosalie's. Soft, they felt so incredibly soft. Why hadn't they done this sooner? It felt amazing. It was warm and tender and all kinds of perfect. A wave of tingling lust went down the women's spines as Bella dared to slide her tongue between Rosalie's lips. Yes, this was that they wanted.

In Rosalie's head her thoughts were racing. She knew it was wrong to let Bella kiss her like this. The kiss was definitively a sexual one and that officially made it cheating. Rosalie had never been a cheater before. Still, she couldn't manage to bring herself to stop the kiss. Maybe this was wrong. But God in heaven, help her, it felt so perfectly right.


	15. Chapter 15

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] I can't thank you enough for your amazing response on my little Rosella fic here. You are the best readers a girl could wish for. Without your incredible support, I wouldn't be here.

Let's play a game and find the movie quote I used in this chapter. I really do have a thing for tear jerkers. Sue me. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy the update.

This chapter is dedicated to **Secrets87** and **Shellmar**. Thank you for telling me you like the slow burn because it's actually something that is difficult for me to write.

_****14****_

Bella didn't know if it was Rosalie or herself who broke the connection of their lips. All she knew was that everything had changed now and the unknown was frightening. Bella had never been scared of the unknown before. She just needed to make sure that Rosalie wanted this as much as she wanted it.

"Bella, I…I mean we…I…," Rosalie stuttered, unable to bring out a complete sentence. Bella had kissed her. Her best friend had kissed her and she had liked it. She had _more_ than liked it. Nobody's kisses had ever made Rosalie feel like this. It was like her skin was still vibrating with tiny currents of desire.

"I could say that I'm sorry. " Bella whispered, running her fingertip gently over the corner of Rosalie's mouth. "But that would be a lie."

Rosalie swallowed back a lump in her throat. "Don't say you are sorry. I liked you kissing me."

Bella sighed when she pulled Rosalie closer for a second kiss. She shivered when the tip of her friend's tongue caressed her lower lip teasingly slow. This was divine. It was like their mouths had always been meant to be locked together.

"Your lips are really as soft as I thought they would be." Rosalie mumbled, kissing down Bella's jaw. "I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"Same here," Bella admitted. "I really wanted to kiss you so badly."

Rose forced herself to pull back. It wasn't an easy thing to do. Bella's skin was warm and smelled so irresistible good.

"Does that mean we're gay now? We're not gay, right?"

"Maybe we're just us." Bella stated. "Look, I don't know what to do now. This is all new for me."

Rosalie rubbed her fingers over the engagement ring on her hand. It felt like a heavy burden to her. She was a cheater. Rosalie hated cheaters more than anything. She needed to stop things before they got out of control completely. Bella meant so much to her and now she would mean even more. This more, this unknown more, was frightening her. Rosalie hated being scared.

"Bella, I'm so sorry. We can't let this happen again. Please tell me this isn't going to ruin our friendship." Rosalie could feel her heart cracking inside her chest. "I love Carlisle."

Bella's voice trembled when she spoke up. "You don't mean that. You're just scared."

Of course, I'm scared, Rosalie screamed inside her head. She didn't say anything to Bella though. Instead she rushed to the bathroom and locked herself in. The anger that spread through her was making Rosalie's entire body quiver.

She heard the knocking against the closed door, the muffled calls of Bella, begging her to open the door again.

Rosalie raised her head, finding her mirror image looking back at her from above the sink. Her lips were red from the kisses and her cheeks were still tinted in a faint blush.

"You're a disgusting coward," Rosalie told herself, slamming her fist forward. The mirror crackled. Blood splattered. A high-pitched scream left Rosalie's mouth as sharp pain rippled through her hand.

Next thing, she heard was how the door to the bathroom was slammed open again.

"Oh my God, are you trying to kill yourself?" Bella called out. She made Rosalie sit down on the floor while she tried to breathe through her mouth and not her nose. It was embarrassing but Bella was a bit sensitive when it came to smelling blood.

"Give me your hand. Let me see how bad it is. Crap, Rose."

"Leave me alone. I don't want you to see me like this. " Rosalie cried. "I want to handle this on my own."

"You are so fucking stupid when you are upset. Shit, you're bleeding like a pig being slaughtered." Bella mumbled. She grabbed a towel and pressed it carefully against Rosalie's hand. "This is definitely going to need stiches. I'll call an ambulance."

Calling an ambulance didn't turn out to be necessary. On the way down the hall Bella bumped right into Carlisle. He was the last person on earth, Bella wanted to be near Rosalie now but he was also the only one who could help her.

"She cut her hand." Bella explained, while Rosalie sobbed silently as she let Carlisle examine her injured hand.

"I can see that." Carlisle whispered, flexing Rosalie's fingers. No, it didn't look like something was broken. "How did this happen?"

"Maybe we should take her to the hospital. Don't you think?" Bella suggested.

"I think I can handle this here. Could you bring me some ice from the vending machine and my bag? It's in my room." He pulled out his card and handed it to Bella.

When Bella walked off, Carlisle lowered his lips to Rosalie's knuckles and blew lightly over the injured skin. "I'm very sorry, Kitty. Are you in much pain?"

Rosalie shook her head no. "I'm sorry. Please, say you'll forgive me."

"Forgive you what? This was an accident. Wasn't it?"

"Yes." Rosalie whispered weakly. "Yes, it was."

Bella returned with the requested bag and a bucket full of ice. She felt the urge to wrap her arms around Rosalie and hold her close. There was no way she could do it though while Carlisle was here.

"Take care of her." She managed to press out before she stormed out of the room again.

"What's wrong with your friend?" Carlisle asked, putting on some blue latex gloves.

"Bella can't handle seeing blood." Rosalie told him, unable to look her fiancé in the eyes.

Carlisle's mouth twitched. "Having difficulties with blood might be a problem for a police officer."

He put some disinfection stuff on a piece of cotton and dabbed it into the wounds on Rosalie's hand.

"When I started being a doctor I had trouble with the blood thing too."

"Really?" Rosalie asked, hissing through her teeth when the disinfectant burned in her flesh. "How did you manage to overcome it?"

"Years and years of practice." He stated, wrapping a bandage around Rosalie's fingers. "Keep that on for a few days. I've sealed the wounds with some medical glue."

"Thank you." Rosalie whispered. "I'm usually not that clumsy."

"I know you're not. Look, Kitty, I'm starting to worry about you. You seem so tensed."

"I'm not tensed." She protested, swallowing back tears. "I'm fine."

"Kitty, I'm not stupid. You are so nervous that your hands are trembling almost all the time."

She nodded her head and sighed. "I'm sorry. I feel like our engagement isn't going well."

"You are right and that's probably my fault. I should have sensed you wouldn't be comfortable with a big wedding."

"But a big wedding is my dream." Rosalie told him, blinking through the tears in her eyes. "Can't we just pretend that everything is fine and go on as we planned to do?"

He nodded his head. "If that's what you want. Of course, we can." Carlisle leaned forward to plant a kiss on Rosalie's cheek. "I only want to see you happy, Kitty."

Because your happiness is what is going to bring back mine, he thought, trying to push the dark memories of his past life aside. This marriage with Rosalie was his second chance. He wasn't going to risk ruining that one too.

xxxx

"Is it bad with Rosalie's hand?" Jasper asked his mother, while he sipped on his beer. Drinking beer was something that Lucy disliked greatly. It was the only kind of rebellion her youngest son had the courage to bring up.

"It's just some deeper scratches. Thank God, Carlisle was there to take care of her. Isn't it great that we are going to have a doctor in our family?"

Jasper nodded his head. He took another sip from his beer, remembering longingly the taste of lips with the same tart taste upon them. If only Lucy wouldn't be so terribly old-fashioned and homophob.

"I'm really sorry Jasper's sister hurt her hand." Alice told Lucy. "She could wear some gloves to the wedding to cover the wounds up when they look too ugly."

"Your Alice has the best ideas, Jazz." Lucy stated. She had re-considered her opinion on the young woman after learning that Alice came from a very well-off family. What else could she wish for in Jasper's partner? Lucy had always wanted what was best for her children.

"That she has. Don't you, Darlin'?" Jasper purred, taking Alice's hand in his. Underneath the table, Alice tried to kick his shin. How much she hated the stupid Darlin' endearment coming from his grinning mouth…

"I'm so happy, my Jazz has found such a nice girl and from such a good Southern family as well. Aren't your parents sad that you decided to go to College so far away from home?"

Alice granted Lucy a wide smile. "My father is usually too busy with working to actually notice I'm not there anymore."

"But your mother must miss you." Lucy stated, pushing the bottle of beer away from her son. Drinking beer from a bottle was such a crude behavior. The fine people always drank wine and champagne from exquisite crystal glasses.

The smile on Alice's face froze to ice. "My mother passed away when I was little. I don't even remember her."

"Oh, that's so sad. Isn't it sad, Jazzy? That must have been so hard for your poor father to raise you on his own." Lucy sadly remembered how difficult things had been for her after Jasper's death. How she had to turn around every penny twice to be able to pay for Rosalie's dancing lessons or costumes. If Royce hadn't been so gracious with his help, she couldn't have done it at all. Maybe the man was a weirdo. But he was a weirdo who had believed in her daughter's talent.

"My Mammy raised me. " Alice explained, trying to free her hand from Jasper's grip. She hated his sweaty hand on hers. It was like he was trying to keep her from running away. Well, honestly, Alice felt a lot like running away. Running away after kicking Jasper where it would cause him most pain.

"So, honey child, you had a Mammy?" Lucy murmured dreamily.

"Yes, all my life." Alice told Jasper's mother. "I miss her so much."

"Mammy?" the blond man next to Alice chuckled. "Who still has Mammies these days? Tell me…did she live with you at home or at the slave quarters with the others?"

He cried out when Alice kicked his leg under the table. What a fucking asshole he was. She felt tempted to ask his mother if she was proud of raising a douchebag like that.

"Aren't you well, Jazzy darling? Well, you're in good hands with Alice. I need to take a look at your sister now. Enjoy your day, my little lovebirds."

With that Lucy walked off in tiny, tripling steps that she hoped would make her look like a lady.

"Keep your hands from me now." Alice snarled, wiping her fingers on her skirt. "You fucking racist."

He chuckled and reached for her hand again. "Come on. That was just a joke, Alice."

"Does it look like I'm laughing, asshole? Zafrina is the person I love most in the world. I don't like anyone speaking low of her."

Jasper grinned. Then he grabbed Alice's hand again, forcing her fist to open up. "I wonder what good old Mammy would say if she knew the truth about you? It might break her heart."

"I'll kill you if you don't keep your word." Alice told him, her nostrils flattering nervously up and down. "You promised to tell no one if I'd agree to this charade here."

He grabbed her by her shoulders, pretending to pull the dainty woman next to him into a passionate embrace. Instead of kissing her though, he whispered into her ear.

"Don't forget that you have more to lose than me, Darlin'. If I go to the Dean, you'll get expelled."

"Please, don't do that." Alice pleaded. "Am I not doing well as your alibi girlfriend?"

"You are pretty convincing."

"Of course, I'm convincing. I was the best in my high school theatre group. Your mother already likes me a great deal, because I'm such a nice girl."

Jasper laughed against Alice's temple. "Nice girl, huh? Nice girls don't let their married professors fuck them, Alice."


	16. Chapter 16

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Lots of drama going on in this fic, I know. I admit that I do have soap opera tendencies in my stories. It is my dream in life to write scripts for soap operas. I think I'd be good at that.

Question: If I created a Facebook group for my fanfics would you join it?

*This chapter is dedicated to **Bellice Fan**. No, Girl, you don't need to worry. I will never write an Edward and Alice pairing.

_****15****_

Charlie Swan knew his daughter, Bella, well. He knew that when something was up she always had a tendency to be very quiet. Just like him she preferred keeping her problems to herself instead of wailing about them like most women did.

Today, the silence in the police station was about to drive Charlie crazy, though. He went over to the coffee machine and poured himself a cup.

"So, how was the wedding rehearsal?" Charlie finally asked, unable to mask his curiosity. "You haven't told me anything about it yet."

Bella sighed, placing another sheet of paper on the scanner. "Okay." She told him. Awful, she thought. "It was okay."

It was _so_ not okay. Bella hated that her and Rosalie hadn't been alone for just one minute after the incident in the bathroom. Maybe it was better that way. The tension between them was unbearable. Again and again, Bella's mind fluttered to the tender kisses the two of them had shared.

"How's the doctor's family like?" Bella's father asked. Charlie knew that the wedding was a bad idea. A man his age shouldn't be with a girl as young as Rosalie. It was just wrong.

"They're okay." Bella stated. "Carlisle has a niece who is only a bit older than Resha. Jane's a feisty little thing. Resha admires her."

"That's probably because she's older. When you and Rose were kids you hang on every word that came out of Rosalie's mouth."

Bella sat down at the edge of her desk and stared down at her hands. Her left wrist was still hurting from her breaking the bathroom lock in the hotel. When she got home today, she would put some ice on it again. If only she could put something on her mind to forget the kisses with Rosalie again.

But the truth was Bella didn't want to forget. Bella wanted to repeat what had happened. Yes, she wanted to repeat kissing Rosalie over and over.

"Dad, I don't want Rosalie to get married to Carlisle."

"Why?"

Why? Yes, exactly why? Bella thought. She didn't want Rosalie to be miserable. Bella knew that a marriage with Carlisle wouldn't make her best friend happy. So, why was Rosalie so determined to pretend it would work?

"It's just a feeling." Bella whispered, clearing her throat. She decided it would be best to try changing the subject of their conversation. "Can we discuss the murder on Officer Hale again?"

Charlie coughed, spilling a bit of hot coffee over the collar of his uniform. "Didn't I make my point in this clear?"

"Yes, Sir." Bella stated. "But maybe it will change your opinion if I tell you about the new theories."

"New theories?" Charlie asked, rubbing his thumb through the dick hairs of his moustache. He had already dedicated more time and money into finding Jasper's murder than he should have. New theories? What kind of new theories was Bella talking about?

Bella took a deep breathe. She needed to convince Charlie that re-opening the murder case was a good idea. "I'm sure that there were two people present on the day Jasper Hale Senior died."

"What makes you think that?" Chief Swan asked, looking over Bella's shoulder while she clicked around on the ancient laptop on her desk.

"It's because of the earring, they found at the crime scene." Bella explained. "I don't think that a guy would wear such things."

"You're right about that. The footprint we managed to save definitely belonged to a guy though. It must have been a very tall guy to be exact."

"How can you know he's tall?"

"I contacted the FBI to ask them for help back then. Turned out they couldn't do much. But at least they managed to make some profile with the footprint."

"You can tell how tall someone is just because of one footprint? But there are small people with big feet and the other way round."

"Don't ask me how those technical crap works like. I'm just a small town cop who still uses ink for taking fingerprints."

"So, we are looking for a tall guy and his female…I don't know…co-perpetrator?"

"We are looking for no one, Deputy Swan." Charlie said. "Look, I've told you before. The case is closed. I don't want to open it again."

"Why, Dad?"

"It's Chief Swan when we are here. Is that clear, Deputy Swan?" Charlie snapped. "I don't want to open the case again because I don't wish to stir hopes in the family again. The whole situation was really bad for everyone back then."

"We don't need to tell the family."

"Are you kidding me? You and Rosalie tell each other everything."

"Not when it's work related. You can trust me on that. Please, Da- I mean, Chief, can't we just give it a try?"

"You are fucking stubborn. Bet you inherited that from your mother's side."

"People tell me I come more after my Dad." Bella smirked. "Now, will you let me explain my theories?"

"Go on." Charlie mumbled. "Why do you think it was two people at the crime scene?"

"Why do you think it wasn't?"

"There were no fingerprints or footprints from a female person to be found."

"But what about the earring? Why would a man have a pearl-earring with him?"

Charlie rubbed his chin. "We assumed that the murderer might have stolen it."

Bella's mouth twitched into a nervous smile. "But it hasn't been reported to be stolen, has it? If I had a precious pair of earrings and some jerk would steal them. I sure would report that to the police."

"You could be right about that." Charlie said. "If only we could find a connection from the earring back to its owner."

xxxx

It was already dark outside when Bella made it home from the police station. She paid the babysitter with the last money from the jar in the kitchen cabinet. It wasa skinny blonde girl named Lauren who occasionally helped out at the Swan's house, when both Charlie and Bella were working at the same time.

"Thanks, Lauren." Bella said, sitting down next to her little daughter. "I'm sorry for being so late."

"I don't mind, Mrs. Swan." The girl told her, waving her hand goodbye at Resha. "Just call me when you need me again, Bella."

When the door closed behind Lauren, Resha spoke up. "I don't like Lauren. She's mean."

Bella laughed. She wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulder and pulled her close. "Why don't you like her?"

"She made me eat those yucky carrot sticks you bought. I hate carrots."

"Lauren is only doing what I've told her to do. Carrots are good for your eyes." Bella told Resha. "Now, did you have a good day at school today?"

"Hmm,"

"That doesn't sound good, sweetie. Do you want to tell Mommy about it?"

"I don't know. Mommy, am I alopted?"

"You mean adopted. No, of course you're not adopted. What makes you think you are?"

"Jane, says her aunt Esme has a black child like me that she adopted from Africa. Mommy, can we go to Africa for vacation? They have lions there. I love lions."

"Sweetie, I don't think we have enough money for such a big trip."

Resha frowned. "Are we poor?"

"No we're not." Bella kissed the tip of Resha's nose. "But Africa is too expensive anyway."

"That sucks. Can I at least watch my Lion King DVD then?"

"Don't say it sucks. I don't like that."

Bella kneeled down and placed the DVD in the player. "Have fun, sweetie. I'll be upstairs if you need anything."

Minutes later when the hot water of the shower cascaded down Bella's body, she felt like she could relax for the first time in a long while. Bella inhaled deeply through her slightly parted lips and leaned back her head.

_I couldn't stop thinking about you_

Rosalie's hoarse whispered confession echoed in Bella's head. Bella could still feel the other woman's lips on her mouth. She could still hear those deliciously sweet little moans that her best friend had made while they kissed.

It was wrong, yes, but when Bella's hand moved between her thighs, she realized that thinking about Rosalie and her kissing had made her wet.

"Fuck, Rose, what are you doing to me?" Bella whispered, rubbing her fingers over the slit of her pussy. She had to bite the inside of her mouth to keep herself from groaning. The mind was a strange place sometimes. Bella didn't want to imagine it being Rosalie's long fingers that were caressing her now instead of her own.

But it was exactly those thoughts, those dirty, completely forbidden thoughts that turned her on right now. Bella flicked her thumb over her clit, feeling it swell and pulse under her touch.

The young police officer had to support herself with her free hand, against the shower wall, when her orgasm rocketed through her body. The sweet lightness of release made Bella feel all dizzy.

She turned off the shower and stepped out, wrapping a towel around her dripping wet body.

"Are you fucking insane? You don't masturbate to fantasies of your best friend. You just don't do that." She mumbled to herself.

Bella towel-dried her hair and continued reproaching herself angrily. She was acting like some stupid horny school girl. Not like an adult woman.

She twisted up her hair and went to her room, pulling out a notepad.

I love Rose. Bella wrote down in big letters. Rose is beautiful. Rose is sexy. Rose is stubborn. I love Rose. Rose is a rose.

Damn it, Bella, what the hell is wrong with you? The young woman thought, ripping out the sheet of paper from the notepad.

For a few minutes Bella hesitated. Then she grabbed her cell from her nightstand and dialed Rosalie's number. It seemed to take forever until Rosalie picked up.

"Hi you,"

"Hey Rose, do you have time to talk?"

"I always have time for you. Look, I'm really sorry about everything that went wrong this weekend."

Bella swallowed hard. "I don't want you to feel sorry about the kiss."

"Kisses." Rosalie whispered. "I know I said it can't happen again and I really meant that but…oh Bella, you are such a good kisser."

Deep inside her stomach Bella could feel a strong tingling sensation. "I liked kissing you. I want to do it again."

"We can't." Rosalie stated, sounding sad. "It would be cheating. I hate cheaters more than anything."

"I know." Bella said. "But I can't pretend the kissing didn't mean anything, for it did."

She could hear the engine of a car roaring in the background before Rosalie was on the line again. "I know it meant something. But I'm scared of what it might mean."

"You worry too much. How's your hand by the way? Are you still in pain?"

"No, it's fine. Carlisle said I shouldn't go to work but I couldn't stay home. They've brought this awesome Jaguar here today. I want to bottle the scent of its engine up and wear it instead of my perfume."

"You are weird. Do you know that?" Bella giggled. "Maybe that's why I love you."

"I love you too. Maybe not in the right way but I do."

Bella sighed. She started chewing on a wisp of her hair, trying to sort her thoughts. It was impossible. "There is no wrong way to love someone. Do you love Carlisle?"

"I care about him. He's a good man. The way he took care of me when I cut my hand. That reminded me of how my Dad used to tend to my injuries when I was little."

"Is this about Daddy issues?" Bella teased. "There's therapy for this kind of problems."

"Jeez, you sound like Jasper. For the record, I don't see Carlisle as a rebound for me father. It's just that I love his compassion so much."

"You love his compassion. You love the way he makes you feel but you do not love him. " Bella stated, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Are you jealous?"

"Of course, I'm not jealous. That is something for whiny people without self-esteem. I just love you and want you to be happy. Your happiness is everything to me."


	17. Chapter 17

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome back, my dear readers. Thank you for reading my story.

This chapter here is dedicated to **DawnLeon** and **Vixenu**.

_****16****_

Rosalie Hale was good at pushing away unpleasant thoughts. At least it had been that way all her life. Now things had changed. She didn't want to think about the stolen kisses she had shared with her best friend. Rosalie didn't want to think about them and get these waves of tingles all throughout her body.

Oh Bella, she thought with a sigh, while she caressed the frame of the picture standing on the desk in her office. Charlie had taken the picture on the day of the girls School graduation. Bella looked lovely, even in the ugly yellow color of their graduation cape.

"Hey Blondie!" Paul called her from the other side of the garage. "Can you move your sexy ass over here?"

Rosalie took a deep breathe. Paul was new here. That was why the poor guy had no idea that it was never a good idea to speak to Rosalie in such a way.

With the widest fake smile Rosalie was capable of, she walked down towards him, letting her hips rock lightly back and forth as she moved.

"Do you need help with anything?" she purred, leaning over his desk so that he could enjoy the view right into her cleavage.

"You could help me with whatever you want, Blondie." Paul chuckled. He reached out his hand and placed it on Rosalie's backside. Next thing he felt was how his own arm was twisted around on his back.

"Ouch! Damn it! Let me go, bitch."

"It's Rosalie, not Blondie or bitch. The next time you molest me, you can sure pack up your shit and go. Now, do your work and leave me the fuck alone."

She tightened the grip around his arm for a moment before she pushed Paul away.

"You almost broke my arm." Paul whined. "Are you fucking insane?"

"The next time you try to make a move on me, it'll be your dick I break. Consider yourself warned."

Behind them someone laughed. "Paul, I warned you. That's what you get from trying to hook up with the ice queen."

Paul hissed and spit out on the ground. "She's probably a dyke."

"Any woman would rather be a dyke than ending up with a sexist asshole like you." Rosalie snapped. "Now, do you have to ask about something work-related or did you just need some inspiration to jerk off in the restroom?"

Working in a garage was tough for a girl. Rosalie had known that from the first day she had started working for Uley Repairs. She loved what she was doing though and everyone, especially her boss Sam had to admit that she was great at it.

"There's a new client downstairs." Emily, Sam's heavily pregnant wife told Rosalie. "It's just some broken back-light. Do you think you can take care of that before your lunch break?"

"Yes, of course." Rosalie stated. "By the way, can't you tell Sam to stop hiring complete morons like Paul?"

xxxx

The red-haired woman leaning against the hood of the silver Volvo seemed tensed though. She was dressed in a pair of blue scrubs and was nervously biting her bottom lip.

"Please, tell me it's really just the light." The woman pleaded. "If there's more damage behind it, I'm screwed."

Rosalie reached out her hand to the woman. "Hi, I'm Rosalie. I'll be taking really good care of your baby here." Rose petted the hood of the car. Then, she walked around it and kneeled down. "Did you hit something? A hydrant maybe?"

"It's more like someone hit me." The Redhead stated. "A young girl bumped into me on the parking lot of the hospital. At least nobody got hurt."

Carefully, Rosalie inspected the back of the Volvo. There was a mark of some yellow car finish on the bumper but apart from that and the broken light things looked good.

"Your car will live. I hope the chick that damaged it is going to pay for it."

The woman sighed. "I'm sure I can sort this out with her. She gave me her phone number. The poor thing was completely irritated. It was probably her first accident."

She opened the backdoor of the car. "Are you awake, sweetie? Come here. We need to get our car repaired before we go home."

A small girl climbed out, holding on to her baby doll as if it was a live-saver.

"Hi there," Rosalie greeted the girl, waving her hand at her. "Who are you?"

The girl's brown eyes turned bigger than they already were. She turned to the woman and pressed her head against her side. "Momma, I want to go home."

"Don't be shy, darling. This nice woman is going to repair our car. Maybe she'll let us watch."

"Really?" the girl asked, raising her head. "I get to watch?"

"You can even help me if you want to." Rosalie offered generously. "How old are you?"

"Senna is five." The woman answered. "I'm sorry. I know people tend to get annoyed when you bring your kids with you everywhere. But I couldn't manage to get a babysitter this soon."

"It's fine. I don't mind." Rosalie assured her. "Now, Senna, would you like to help me to fix your car?"

The little girl nodded eagerly. "Momma, can I help her?"

"Sure, honey. That would be lovely."

Rosalie laughed. "This is good. I'll be able to work much faster with your help." She pointed towards her toolbox and told the girl which tool to bring back to her.

"You are good with kids. Do you have some of your own?"

"Not yet." Rosalie told the woman while she placed the fragments of broken plastic on the ground. "But my best friend has a little daughter around Senna's age."

"That's nice." Redhead stated. "Senna, darling, be careful with the glass. I don't want you to cut yourself."

A few minutes later the damage on the woman's car had been fixed. Rosalie had found herself a new admirer.

"Can I come and help you again?" Senna asked shyly. "I want to."

"Maybe, if your mother allows you to." Rosalie stated. "Now, Ma'am, if you could follow me into our office, so that we can handle the unpleasant part of paying."

The woman lifted the girl up and kissed her forehead. "Momma is so proud that you helped the nice lady. You're Momma's big girl now, aren't you?"

Rosalie's mouth curled into a smile when she watched the two of them sit down on the chair in the small office. What a cute pair of mother and daughter, she thought. I really can't wait to have kids of my own.

"How much do we owe you?"

"Well, that would be 85, 90 please. Cash or credit?"

"Who has cash these days? It's all about plastic money." She pulled out her wallet and handed Rosalie a credit card.

As soon as she read the name written on the piece of plastic, Rosalie cringed. "Esme Cullen?"

"Yeah, that would be me. Are you well, Miss. You are looking a bit pale."

"It's fine, Mrs. Cullen." Rosalie croaked, slicing the card through the machine. "Thanks for visiting Uley Repair. Have a good day."

As soon as Esme Cullen and her little daughter walked out of the office, Rosalie grabbed the phone.

She knew that Bella would be at the station now. "Forks Police Department, this is Deputy Swan speaking."

"Hello Deputy Swan. Is my best friend around too? I'd like to speak to her."

Bella chuckled into the receiver. "Hi, Beautiful. What's up?"

"You never guess who just walked out here." Rosalie said.

"Who?" Bella asked curiously. "Some celebrity?"

"No, way better, it was Carlisle's ex-wife. Oh, my god, I want to hate her but I can't. She's such a nice person."

"Was she at the Garage to make you a scene?"

"No, she's just a client. She didn't know who I was. Look, this was so awkward somehow. I thought his ex-wife was some stupid bitch from how he talked about her."

"Nobody speaks nice about ex-partners." Bella stated. "How long were they married?"

"I don't really know. They have been divorced for five years now. She still hasn't changed her name back. Isn't that weird? Maybe she still has feelings for him."

"You seem jealous. Anyway, shouldn't you better be having this conversation with Carlisle?"

"No way! He'd think I'm jealous, which, just for the record, I am not."

Bella cleared her throat. "I think I'm a bit jealous. When I told you I wasn't that was not the truth."

Rosalie twisted a wisp of her long ponytail around her fingers. "You are jealous of Carlisle?"

"Yes."

"But why?"

"Because I feel like he's taking you away from me." Bell admitted. "I don't want that to happen."

"No one could ever take me away from you." Rosalie whispered. "Don't you know that you are the most important person in my life?"

Bella sighed. "I don't know why it feels so weird when you tell me stuff like that." After a little pause she added. "It's all because of the kiss. The kiss has made me all confused in the head."

"I can't stop thinking about it either." Rose mumbled. "I never thought that kissing a girl would feel that incredible."

A deep chuckle right behind her, made Rosalie drop the phone. "Bella, I'll call you back, honey. Kay?"

With the brightest tint of pink on her cheeks, Rosalie turned to Paul. "Ever heard of knocking?"

He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You tend to miss the most interesting things if you do that."

"Piss off, asshole and mind your own business."

"What a man-hating bitch you are." Paul murmured. "I knew you are a lesbian. I just knew it."

xxxx

Rosalie wiped some steam from the mirror in her bathroom. she wrote with her fingertip. You are not gay now, girl. Are you?

_I knew you are a lesbian._

All that Rosalie knew was that kissing Bella had meant something. It had meant more than it was supposed to mean. But you couldn't change your entire life because of one single, well two amazing kisses.

On the edge of the sink, next to Rosalie's countless beauty products was her engagement ring. She had taken it off for taking a shower and didn't feel like putting it back on.

After quickly brushing through her blonde curls, Rosalie went to her bedroom and hopped on the bed. She reached for her pillow and pressed her face against it.

Would it be that bad if she was actually gay? Rosalie wondered. Love is love. Isn't it?

She knew that she loved Bella more than anyone else. But this love was not a sexual kind of love. At least it had never been until the kissing. Well, and then there had been this awkward but very excited phase of experimenting together. Rosalie could still remember the feeling deep down in the pit of her stomach when Bella had placed her hands on her breasts.

"_No, they are not too big. They still fit in my hand and guys have bigger hands than me, you know?"_

Fuck, Bella, we are so gay for each other like some neon colored rainbow. Rosalie hummed against the pillow in front of her mouth. Well, just because we are attracted to each other in that kind of way, doesn't mean we need to act on it. Yes, maybe this was going to be the solution to the whole emotional chaos. She and Bella needed to learn to suppress those feelings. Their friendship was too precious to Rosalie to be risked.

"I love you, Bella." Rosalie whispered into the darkness of her bedroom. "But if I let you love me like this, it will ruin everything between us. I can't risk for that to happen. I just can't."


	18. Chapter 18

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for all your support and the kind reviews. I love all of you so much, my dear readers. Having you by my side makes this Rosella project so much more fun.

Today's update is dedicated to **BellaAlice4E** and **LovaticFever**

FAQ's

Is Senna Carlisle's daughter?

No, she's not. Little Jane already told us that Esme adopted the girl from Africa.

_****17****_

Something needs to change. How often had Bella been telling this to herself? Change wasn't an easy thing for her to do. Not, because she was scared. Bella had never really been scared of the unknown. She was just nervous about the possible consequences that would come with the change of things.

Bella was nervous in a way that made her feel constantly uncomfortable. She didn't want to think about Rosalie all the time. But whether she wanted to admit it to herself or not; Bella's thoughts drifted back to her attractive best friend again and again.

Yes, it was true and Bella couldn't deny the obvious any longer. She wanted Rose. Bella wanted Rosalie in a way that was barely endurable with the physical need that came with it.

Bella had always considered Rosalie pretty, beautiful even. But now she was aware of every tiny aspect of Rose's body. How smooth her legs looked like. How deliciously her round backside filled out whatever skirt or jeans Rose was wearing. And those lips, those plump, silky lips. Bella could fantasize about those for hours.

Flashes of heat streamed through Bella's veins while she pictured herself on top of a half-naked Rosalie. She imagined her face pressed between her best friend's luscious breasts.

"Hello? Earth to Bella!"

Bella dropped the folder, she was holding on her lap. The noise it made, when it hit the linoleum floor finally brought her back to the presence. Had she been daydreaming again? At work on top of it? Jeez, she really needed to get her shit together.

"I didn't startle you. Did I?" Emmett asked her. "You've been staring at the wall behind me for a full minute."

"I was just in thoughts." Bella murmured. "Good morning, Emmett. What brings you here this early?"

The boyish grin on his face widened. He placed two bottles with paint remover on her desk. "This should be more than enough for the little incident with the car."

Bella coughed. "It's fine. Actually that was a joke when I emailed you about you owing the police station paint remover."

"Whatever. The chick whose car the little shitheads damaged looks like a fucking librarian. Who wants to fuck librarians? Why can't they ever hire some teachers that are hot?"

"Well, they can't hire a coach who isn't an asshole to his students, so hiring a more attractive female teacher doesn't seem to be on a very high priority."

"I'm their coach. Not their mommy or their fuck buddy." Emmett stated. "Do you think I made it to NFL because my coaches were nice to me?"

Bella nodded her head. "Those kids aren't professional sportsmen. They just want to survive High school."

"Some things are worth dying for, Bella."

"Jeez, if you hate teaching so much why don't you try to get another job?"

Emmett's grin turned into an unhappy frown. "Have you spoken to my Mom? She's been telling me the same crap for months."

Bella grabbed a pen from her desk and started chewing nervously around on its end. She was so tensed. Bella was so tensed that she couldn't focus on anything. She hated it because she felt like it made her appear unprofessional. Bella was a good cop. At least she hoped to become a good cop one day.

"Lucy wouldn't come to me for advice." Bella told Emmett. "She and I aren't exactly on best terms at the moment."

"I understand why. The women in my family aren't very easy to handle. You can see that with my stubborn sister."

A sigh left Bella's throat. "I don't think Rosalie is anything like Lucy."

Emmett shrugged his shoulders. "They are more alike than you might be realizing. Anyway, I wanted to ask you if you'd like to be my date for the wedding."

Instead of answering him, Bella burst into laughter. "Is this a joke?"

"The wedding? Yes, that is totally a joke in my eyes. As for me asking you out to be my date for it, that was serious."

"I have to agree with you on the wedding thing. God, I don't understand why Rosalie is so desperate to marry Carlisle."

"People tend to make a lot of mistakes. Some just have more severe consequences than others." He crossed his arms in front of his broad chest. "Now, are you saying yes to my question?"

Bella shook her head no. "Not if you were the last available guy on earth."

"Burn!" Emmett whimpered, pressing his hand against his chest. "That broke my heart."

Bella grinned. "Didn't know you had one, Coach Heartless."

Emmett rose from the chair he had been sitting on and leaned over Bella's desk. Very lightly, he brushed his thumb over Bella's hand.

She grabbed his palm so tightly that it made his entire hand hurt unpleasantly. "You are not actually so stupid to make a move on an armed woman?"

Emmett laughed. "If I had wanted to make a move on you, Swan, I could have done so a very long time ago."

Your sister would have killed you for that, Bella thought, unable to suppress the grin. When they were children, Rosalie had hated it more than anything when Bella had played with Emmett and baby Jasper instead of her. Yes, Rosalie was a very jealous person when it came to sharing the person she felt closest to.

"Look, Bella, I just want us to go as friends. You understand that I can't just take one of my fuck dates to meet my family."

"How about trying to get a real girlfriend? You know that's when you have sex with someone that you actually enjoy talking to as well."

"I don't like talking to girls I fuck. There's nothing sexy about that."

"Oh Emmett, grow up. I think it's time for you."

He stood up from his chair and waved his hand at Bella. "Take care, Swan. I'm off to torture those whiny sophomores some more."

As soon as Emmett left, Bella tried to focus on her work again. She knew the sooner she would finish scanning the rest of the old files, the sooner she could concentrate all her energy on the Hale murder.

Alice still hadn't replied back to her email but Bella was hoping she would soon.

Bella opened a new word document and typed down her thoughts. What had she figured out so far?

Jasper Senior had been killed through a shot in into the left side of his forehead.

The autopsy records had stated that the young officer's killer couldn't have been more than two feet away from his victim.

This information irrevocably meant that Jasper Senior must have seen his murderer aiming the weapon at him.

So, why in God's name hadn't Hale tried to defend himself? Bella was sure he hadn't tried to defend himself, because the records said Hale's gun had been found still attached to the police officer's belt.

Why didn't you try to defend yourself, Hale? Bella wondered. Then she typed down a new question.

Did Officer Hale possibly know his attackers? Was this the reason why he didn't reach for his weapon?

With a deep sigh Bella, closed the lid of the laptop. How different would the life of the Hale family have turned out, if Jasper Hale Senior hadn't been killed?

Bella had barely any memory of her father's former partner. There were several pictures of him in Lucy's house though. The young cop had a lot of similarity to his youngest son. From their late father, Jazz and Rosalie had inherited the same beautiful honey-blonde curls.

In her mind Bella replayed the feeling of softness between her fingers as she had combed through the blonde woman's long tresses. Yes, Rosalie was a true goddess. One that Bella didn't want to lose to someone else who wouldn't love her in the way she needed to be loved. Rosalie needed to be loved a lot. That much Bella was sure of.

Nobody knew Rosalie better than Bella. Nobody knew Bella better than Rosalie.

When she had come up with the idea to sign up for the police academy in Seattle it had been Rose with who she had talked these plans through. It had been Rose and not her indifferent boyfriend Tyler.

Maybe it was Rosalie's friendship and support that had helped Bella to endure the years of a relationship with her ex.

Bella had always had Rosalie to lean on. She had Rose to talk to when she had something on her heart. She had Rosalie to cuddle with when she needed a little tenderness. Most of all she had Rose to always be there for her whenever she needed her.

Throughout the last years, Bella and her best friend had become closer and closer to each other. They hadn't even realized how close they had become until the kiss had happened. Like Snow White being awakened by Prince Charming's kiss, the kiss between Rosalie and Bella had marked a life-changing milestone in their relationship with each other.

Both of them had liked it. Both of them had _more_ than liked it…

Bella opened her backpack and pulled out her wallet. Almost tenderly her fingertips caressed the old picture of her and Rosalie. They had taken it on a trip to Port Angeles with a cheap, disposable camera.

Both of them were smiling big in it. Rosalie's arms were wrapped around Bella from behind, unable to fit around her heavily pregnant friend's middle.

"See? You'd almost missed that." Rosalie had whispered when the baby had kicked hard against their joined hands. "Now, aren't you glad you kept her?"

You were right, my Rose, Bella thought taking a deep breath. She couldn't imagine her little daughter not being part of her life; just as much as Bella couldn't imagine a future without having Rosalie by her side.

"I love you, Rose." Bella whispered to herself. "I love you so much, it's driving me insane."

As she closed her eyes for a moment, a new idea flashed through Bella's head. At first she quickly tried to push those thoughts aside.

No, she told herself. No, you can't even think about doing such a terrible thing. Bella leaned her face upon her fists and gnashed her teeth.

She had done everything in her power to convince Rosalie that the wedding with Carlisle was a bad idea. She had tried to be understanding and supportive. Bella had even suggested to Rosalie to just give the whole thing more time and wait some more until she and Carlisle would tie the knot. The blonde woman didn't want to hear any of it. Sometimes people were willing to learn things only the hard way.

"You're going to hate me for this." Bella mumbled, biting around on her lower lip until she tasted blood on the tip of her tongue. "But I'm doing this for you."

You are doing this mainly for yourself, Bella's conscious scolded her. You are doing this because you want to be with Rosalie and are fucking jealous.

With nervously trembling fingers Bella shoved the picture back into the wallet and threw it on top of her backpack. She loved Rosalie. When you loved someone that irrevocably meant you needed to fight for that person. Love was always worth fighting for. Everything that held a meaning in life was worth fighting for. Bella had always been a fighter.

"Rose, you're going to hate me. But I know you won't be able to hate me forever because you love me too."

Bella made her hand into a tight fist, feeling a painful cramp spread up her arm. "I won't lose you, Rose. And I won't let you run into a marriage that is destined to fail before it has actually begun."

At this point Bella wasn't sure about how she was going to succeed. At first, she needed to come up with a plan. Somehow though, somehow, Bella was determined to find a way to stop her best friend's wedding from actually happening.


	19. Chapter 19

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to a new update, my dear readers. Thank you for taking the time to read my little story here, especially to those of you that took the time to leave a comment. I love reading your thoughts. They make me smile big and help me a lot when times are stressful in real life.

Today's chapter is dedicated to my reader **Lynail**. I hope you'll enjoy.

_****18****_

Mary Alice Brandon was a good girl who had turned into a bad one. Until she had started College two years ago, she had been a dreamy little virgin waiting for her own personal knight in shining armor to show up. Yes, maybe Alice had a tendency to being naïve. But some people tend to be that way before real life kicks them hard.

On her third week at College Alice had bumped into the future love of her life. He was everything she had ever wanted and more. The boys back home had been silly kids, who had chewed bubblegum while they had asked her out to movie theatres and Fast Food places. How different J. was from them. He knew which French wine to order for their romantic dinner. He knew how to make Alice feel like a princess even when in truth she was little more than his whore.

Sleeping with a married man was a bad thing to do. But how can you say no to real love when it sweeps you off your feet.

Now though the situation had changed. The unplanned pregnancy had made things between them more complicated. Alice still hadn't brought up the courage to tell him she was pregnant. He would be mad at her. That much she was sure of.

With a sigh, she pulled out the envelope from her handbag. It didn't even look the tiniest bit like a human baby. All she could see in the ultrasound pic was some greyish shadow.

The feeling of loneliness overwhelmed her. She wished that she could simply call J. and tell him about the baby. But of course, Alice knew this was impossible. He was always the one to call. J. made all the choices in their relationship. When he had told her to cut off her hair, she had done it. When he had told her, she'd look better wearing 6 inch heels all the time, she had done so, even when her feet were hurting.

Alice swallowed back tears. The pregnancy hormones were making her too emotional and she didn't like that. She reached for her phone and dialed Zafrina's number.

"Hey, my little dove." The woman greeted her cheerfully. "So, you finally remembered calling home again."

"I'm sorry, Mammy. I was kind of busy in the last time."

Zafrina chuckled. "I hope you're busy with studying and not partying all the time."

"Am I not allowed to have some fun while I'm at College?" Alice snapped, while she pulled a blanket on her lap.

"Your father isn't paying for your entertainment but for your education."

"I know." Alice cleared her throat nervously before she spoke up again. "Mammy, there is something I need to tell you."

"Has my little dove found herself a nice young gentleman?"

Yes! Alice yelled in her head. But I'm pretty sure you wouldn't approve of it too much.

"Alice?"

"I…promise me not to tell Dad, okay? I was in a little accident."

"Did you get hurt?" Zafrina asked, her voice getting a bit shrill. "You're not hurt are you?"

"No, it's just the car. I hit a woman's Volvo at a parking lot."

"You need to drive a bit more carefully, young lady. Your father would be upset if something happened to you."

Alice snuggled against the soft fabric of her blanket. "Is he home?"

"He's upstairs. Right now he's getting dressed for meeting these awful people from Texas. The one with the slimy black hair is a complete weirdo if you ask me."

"You better make sure Dad doesn't hear you talking about one of his most important business partner like this. Mr. Volturi is a perfect gentleman. Why don't you like him?"

"I don't have enough time to sum up all my reasons for disliking that man."

Alice felt her mouth twitch into something that would come pretty close to a smile. "I miss you. What are you doing there without me?"

"I'm keeping the house clean and your father healthy. The doctors have given him a new diet plan for him to lower his cholesterol."

"Dad is never going to eat healthy food."

"I know. That's why I've been filling low fat milk into the cartoon of full fat milk and replacing his regular coffee with a caffeine free brand."

"Isn't he going to notice the difference?"

Another chuckle left Zafrina's mouth. "Your father is a guy. Noticing small changes isn't their strength."

"Maybe I'll come home for the next weekend. Would that be okay?"

"Oh, little dove. Are you homesick? I'm sorry to hear that."

"I'm not homesick." Alice lied, sniffing into the receiver. "It was just an idea. I don't have money for the flight now anyway since I have to pay the repair on two cars."

"I can tell your father to send you some more money."

"No, don't do that. Look, I'm going to hang up now. There's this essay I need to get finished."

"Don't work too hard, my little dove. Good bye. I love you."

"I love you too." Alice whispered, disconnecting the call. She crumbled the ultrasound pic between her fingers and tossed it over the table. Her life was fucked up and she had no clue how to get things right again. She pulled out her phone to check it for new texts. He hadn't sent any. God, how tired she was of always waiting for him. For over a year now, she was waiting for him to leave his red-haired witch of a wife for her. J. had promised to do so, hadn't he? Maybe if Alice would tell him about the baby, that would be the kick in the butt her secret lover needed?

Alice decided that she was going to tell him tomorrow after class. This baby was as much his as it was hers. Their love had created this child. For the first time, since she had made the pregnancy test, Alice felt like she could actually love the baby.

She flipped through the old messages in her phone. Some of them made her blush. "Don't wear any panties to class tomorrow." One of them read. "God, J., you are such a naughty professor. I love you." Alice whispered hoarsely.

Another message popped up on the little screen. Oh right, Bella had sent her the picture of some old pearl earring. She had taken one look at them to find out they were fake. A good fake though. You could always sell stuff like this to people who knew shit about jewelry.

"Hi Bella, I'm sorry for taking so long to respond. I've been kind of busy. Anyway; the pearl on the earring is a fake one." Alice typed into the phone. "But I understand why you thought it was real. There are two places I know where you can get to buy stuff like this. One is called Romanian Treasures and the other one is called Volturi Jewelry. I hope this helps you. Take care, Alice"

xxxx

At the other side of the country, in a beautiful chestnut-wooden kitchen Zafrina shook her head. The girl had sounded so upset. When you raise a child all her life you can sense when she is sad, even when the girl doesn't admit it openly.

"Red or blue tie?" Alice's father asked, startling Zafrina as he walked down the stairs. "Which one looks better on me?"

"Blue, Mr. Brandon. Blue is your color. Always was, always will be. Do you want some coffee before you leave?"

"Yes, that would be nice." He stated, wrapping the blue tie around his neck. "And stop calling me Mr. Brandon when nobody can hear us. It's not necessary."

"Let me do this for you." Zafrina mumbled, standing up from her chair. "You're going to strangle yourself with your clumsy hands."

"Thanks." he murmured, brushing his fingertips gently over hers. "What would I do without your help?"

"You could always hire a new maid." she suggested.

"I don't want anybody here but you. You know that. Don't you?

She smiled. "I do. Here's your coffee."

He sipped on the drink. The taste was weird, but he didn't mention anything about it. That would only make Zafrina furious again. Coffee was always coffee wasn't it?

"Alice has called." Zafrina told him. "Don't freak out. She was in an accident."

"Is the car alright? Damn it, the thing was almost new."

"Is that all your concern? If the stupid car has been damaged? Alice could have been injured."

"Yes, of course. She's alright. Is she?"

"She said she is. But she sounded so sad. Maybe you should fly to Seattle sometime soon and check on her."

He nodded his head and took another sip from the strange tasting coffee. "We could both fly there and surprise Alice. How does that sound like?"

"Like your first good idea in months." Zafrina giggled. Then she leaned over the table and pressed her lips against his. "I wish you could stay home tonight, George."

"You don't cancel meetings with the Volturi." He stated, standing up again. "Don't stay up all night waiting for me again. It's going to get late."

xxxx

Back home in Forks, Bella had spent the entire night tossing around in her bed. Now, that her decision to ruin Rosalie's wedding had been made, the woman couldn't find any rest.

She loved Rose and ruining the wedding would upset Rosalie. Yes, it would upset her but in the long run, Rosalie would be glad about it. Bella was sure about this.

Through tired eyes Bella blinked at the alarm clock on her nightstand. It was just five a.m. now. Enough time for two more hours of precious sleep.

The problem was that she was too agitated to find any rest. If only she could have Rosalie here with her. Oh, all the things she wanted to do to her best friends. The things Bella wanted to do with her.

Bella groaned. She needed to figure out a plan. She needed to set up a plan on how to sabotage the wedding.

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep, Bella went downstairs to the kitchen and started some coffee.

"You're up early." Charlie greeted her as he entered the house a few minutes later. "Is something wrong?"

"I couldn't sleep any longer." Bella told him. "How was your shift?"

"Quiet like I like it to be. Why can't you sleep?"

Because I have too much on my mind, Bella thought. "All the nightshifts you put me on have ruined my sleeping rhythm."

"You'll get used to it. I'll go and crash now. Have a good day, Bells."

He kissed her cheek and went upstairs.

Bella filled a cup with steaming hot coffee and sipped on it. "Get used to something. Maybe Rose was too used to having me for sure."

She reached for the phone and dialed Rosalie's number. She knew that her friend always had the phone on silent mode at night time, so she wouldn't pick up the call.

"Good Morning, Beautiful. Call me back when you hear this, right? I miss you."

It took exactly five minutes until Rosalie returned the call. "Is something wrong?"

"Why are you up this early?" Bella asked.

"Set my alarm an hour early. I want to go for a run before I head to work. Nothing burns off more calories than running before breakfast."

"You hate running."

"I hate the fact that I haven't managed to lose a single pound yet. There is no way in hell I'm going to fit into Mom's dress."

Bella coughed. "How about getting another dress instead? I could help you find one."

"I can't do that to my mother."

"Oh honey, of course you can. Do you really want to spend the next weeks nibbling on carrot sticks? Your figure is lovely the way it is."

"Thanks for saying that." Rosalie sighed. "I'm not sure how I feel about another dress. What are you going to wear to the wedding?"

"My black dress, what else?"

"Really? I love you in that one. It makes you look so sexy."

"Well, sexy is good. Aren't wedding a good possibility to hook up with someone?"

Bella nipped on her coffee and waited patiently for Rosalie to respond.

"I don't want you to hook up with some drunken moron. You are too good for that."

"Your brother asked me to be his date. You wouldn't refer to your own brother as a moron, would you?"

"Emmett asked you out? Please, tell me you said no."

"I have, but I could still change my mind, you know."

"If Emmett fucks you, I will have to kill him. That would upset Mom. So, please don't do it."

Bella laughed. "Your brother isn't my type. Don't worry."

"I will still tell him to stay the fuck away from you."

Oh my Rose, how much I love you when you are jealous. The smile on Bella's face widened. "Have a good day, Beautiful. No one loves you like I do."

Rosalie sighed deeply. "No one loves you like I do. If you ever find a boyfriend who isn't a complete jerk, I'm going to be so fucking jealous of him."


	20. Chapter 20

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to a new chapter, my lovely readers. Thank you for your reviews. I hope everybody is going to have a nice start into this weekend.

Today's update is dedicated to **sydneyw3 **and **LethalPoison**

_****19****_

"Don't let her eat candy crap all day long." Bella told her ex-boyfriend when she dropped little Resha off at his place. No, she didn't like the idea of him spending time with her. She was still mad at Tyler for the stunt he had pulled at the parking lot in La Push. But whether Bella liked his behavior or not, he was still Resha's father and the girl had a right to see him. It had also been a good excuse for Bella to go to Seattle again over the weekend. The thing that Bella needed more than anything was to spend some time alone with Rosalie.

"She can eat whatever she wants when she's at my house." Tyler stated, holding a bag with chips up to Resha.

Bella frowned. She swallowed back a snappy comment. Don't say something rude again in front of the kid, she tried to remind herself.

"Resha, sweetie, go upstairs and start unpacking your stuff. Your father will be with you in a minute."

The girl nodded her head. "Are you going to pick me up tomorrow?"

"Of course, I will." Bella assured her. She kneeled down to wrap her arms around her daughter. "Have fun, sweetie. Kay?"

Again, Resha nodded before she stormed upstairs, almost losing her balance on the stairs.

"Don't run!" Bella called after her. "How often—"

"Relax." Tyler mumbled. "You are so fucking tensed all the time, _Cherie_." When he stepped closer to Bella and placed his hands on her shoulders, she pushed him away.

"Don't touch me."

He grinned. "I thought you coming here meant you want to get back together with me."

"Thinking is not your strength. I'm only here to drop off the girl. Which by the way, you should be grateful for. I don't have to let you see her."

The smile on Tyler's face froze into an annoyed frown. "I could try to get custody for her. Mom says my chances are big."

"Your mother knows shit. No judge who is right in his head will give you custody."

"I could always play the race card." He stated calmly. "I don't think it's good for Resha to be around white people all the time."

Bella exhaled loudly though her teeth. "This conversation won't lead to anything. God, I hate you."

"You used to love me."

"Things change and so do people. Remember what I said about the eating thing. She's going to get a stomach ache when you give her too much sugary stuff."

Tyler promised to do what Bella had told him. He was smart enough not to start another move on Bella when she told him goodbye. A man needs to know when he has lost and Tyler had lost Bella irrevocably that much he was almost sure of.

Back in her car, while she was on her way to Rosalie's apartment, Bella thought over her plan again. She needed to show Rosalie that she was way better for her than Carlisle. Then, she also needed to find a way to make Rosalie angry at him. Rosalie wasn't a nice person to deal with when she was mad at you. Carlisle wouldn't like it.

A few minutes later, Bella turned off the engine with a sigh. She applied a fresh layer of lip balm on her lips and combed through her hair with her fingers before she stepped out.

"There you are." Rosalie greeted her cheerfully, opening the door. "I was so happy when you called me that you were going to come."

"I'm not disturbing your wedding preparations, am I?" Bella asked, pulling Rosalie into a tight and very long hug. Oh, yes, this felt so very right. She never wanted to let go of her best friend.

"Come in. I don't get to prepare anything for this wedding." Rosalie stated. "Mom is deciding everything that there is to decide."

Bella cleared her throat and sat down at the crème-colored leather couch in Rosalie's living room. "Do you want me to tell her to back off?"

"Not necessary. I'm actually glad that she's handling everything. She's better at organizing things than me."

"I don't think so." Bella said. She wrapped her arm around Rosalie and stroked softly over the skin on Rosalie's arm. In her chest, Bella could feel her heart pounding fast.

Don't be nervous. Bella told herself. You can do this. Just try to let your feelings guide you.

Rosalie sighed. She leaned her head against Bella's shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm so glad you are here. We need to have girl nights way more often."

"You're going to be married soon. Married women spend their Saturdays with their hubbies. Not with their friends."

"Well, that doesn't work out when you are going to get married to a doctor. He's working this weekend too. I don't like it."

Bella's fingertips circled down to Rosalie's hand. She wasn't wearing the engagement ring right now. If that wasn't a good sign, Bella didn't know what a good sign was.

"Do we want to go out?" Rosalie asked, pulling her hand away from Bella's tender hold. She had to press her lips together to suppress a soft moan. Why did it feel so amazingly good when Bella touched her? It never felt that way when Carlisle tried to be tender with her. Yes, he was a good man. He was kind and full of compassion. There were a million reasons why she should love him. Yet, she didn't, at least not in the romantic, fairytale kind of way.

"Sure, why not. We haven't been out in forever." Bella stated. Her eyes caught a crumbled leaflet on the table. "Hey is that a new club?"

"It's a gay club." Rose explained with embarrassment. "One of the morons at my work put it on my desk. Paul is such a jerk."

"Maybe we should go there. It could be fun."

"We are not gay." Rosalie giggled. "I think it would be awkward."

"Don't be scared." Bella laughed, taking Rosalie's hand again. "I will protect you if some dykes start making any moves on you."

Rosalie sighed. Then she leaned forward and pressed her lips against Bella's cheek. "You are so cute. I love you."

"I love you more." Bella mumbled. "Do we want to eat something before we go? We could order some pizza. I know you hate cooking."

"Pizza is not going to help make this ass a size smaller." Rosalie said, wiggling her backside in front of Bella's face. "But…we could share one. Couldn't we? It doesn't count when we share a pizza. Right?"

xxxx

The club was already crowded when Bella and Rosalie entered it three hours later. The air was too warm, filled with sweat, perfume and the aroma of cheap alcohol.

Bella hugged Rosalie from behind and nuzzled her face against her friend's neck. She loved the shoulder-free top Rose was wearing. It made Rosalie look so incredibly sexy.

"We're not like them. Are we?" Rosalie asked, pointing her finger towards a lesbian couple that was about to dry hump each other on the dance floor.

"You and I are just us." Bella whispered into Rosalie's ear. "Do you want to dance?"

"There is no space for dancing." Rosalie stated. The blonde woman felt a shiver running down her spine when Bella pulled her closer against her own body.

"Just move your hips, Beautiful. We don't have to move around a lot. You know I'm not good at that anyway."

It was too hot. It was too hot inside the club and being so close to Rosalie only made Bella feel warmer. Pearls of sweat trickled down the side of her face.

"I'll get us something to drink." Bella mumbled, kissing Rosalie's neck before she pulled away from the embrace.

She managed to push herself through the crowd and towards the bar. "Beer for you and your girlfriend?" the bartender asked with a grin. He was a tall guy who had his dreadlocks pulled back in a ponytail. "You two are a pretty couple."

"We're not together." Bella told him. I'm still working at that part, she thought in her head. "Do you have some chilled white wine? She likes that better than beer."

"It's always a good start when you know what a woman likes." He stated with a grin. Then he reached out his hand to her. "Hi, my name is Laurent. I'm the co-owner of this rainbow paradise."

Laurent filled two plastic cups with wine and added some ice-cubes. Then he swirled a bottle around between his hands and filled a neon-green shot into a little glass.

"That's a Wet Pussy for you on the house. Cheers."

Bella wrinkled her nose as the bitter alcohol filled her mouth. The aftertaste was strangely sweet and reminded her a bit of pineapple.

"Thanks, Laurent. Have a good night."

"Wait. If you and your non-girlfriend want to come again, I have some free tickets for you for Friday night."

Bella took the tickets from him and pushed them into the pocket of her jeans. A bit of the wine swapped over her shirt when she made her way back to Rosalie again.

"I wanted to come after you." Rosalie snapped, her blue eyes sparkling in the dim light of the club. "What the fuck were you talking to that guy for so long?"

"What is your problem? Why are you so pissed now?"

"Because tonight was supposed to be about us!" The blonde called out. "And now you are flirting with the bartender. Don't tell you weren't. I know he's your type."

"Why do you think he's my type?" Bella asked annoyed by Rosalie's ridiculous jealousy. "Because Tyler is black and Laurent too? Do you think I want to fuck every black male on the planet?"

"I don't care." Rosalie snapped. "It's none of my business." Rose took one of the plastic cups from Bella and gulped its content down in a flash. "I don't like how I feel when I see you with someone." She prattled. "I know I have no right to feel that way and that makes me even more furious."

It was now or never. Bella knew she had to use this opportunity. "Come with me." she demanded, pulling Rosalie out of the club. She pushed Rose against a wall and cupped the blonde's face in her hand.

"I'm going to kiss you now. That way you'll know I want nobody but you, my Beautiful."

Very lightly Bella touched her lips against Rosalie's. It was a gentle kiss, almost like a question. Bella was giving Rose a last chance to pull away. She didn't do it.

Instead Rosalie reached out her hands and wrapped them around Bella's waist. Her tongue swiped between the brunette woman's lips, making her groan softly in response.

Both of them were panting heavily when they finally managed to break the contact of their mouths. "You've driving me crazy." Rosalie whispered, letting her lips glide down Bella's throat. "I dream about you every night." Her tongue flattered over Bella's sweaty skin. "About the things I want you to do to me."

"What kind of things?" Bella asked her voice sounding deep with lust. "Tell me."

Rosalie swallowed back another moan. Her fingers were trembling when she took Bella's hand and placed it on her chest. "Please,"

Bella could feel Rosalie beginning to shiver slightly when she cupped her breasts through the thin fabric of her top. Between her own legs, the cotton of her panties was already damp. She could feel the blood in her veins racing at the speed of light.

She kissed Rosalie's mouth again, deepening it after a few seconds as she explored the inside of her best friend's mouth with her tongue. God, why hadn't they done this earlier? How had they managed to keep this magnetic attraction towards each other at bay before?

It didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was here and now. Bella pushed her knee between Rosalie's thighs. "Let's go home, Beautiful. I really need to be alone with you now."


	21. Chapter 21

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome back, my dear readers. Big thanks to those of you who took the time to leave me a review. I love reading your supportive feedback.

I'm not kidding you when I say that I'm nervous about this chapter. This is the longest I made people wait for a lemon in one of my stories. Let's hope this doesn't disappoint your expectations.

Today's update is dedicated to **Crazy Heart 101** and **TeamPara55**

_****20****_

"Your skin feels so smooth." Bella whispered while she let her hands glide down Rosalie's back to the clasp of her bra. "I don't want to stop touching it."

"Then don't stop." Rosalie pressed out in a soft moan. Her entire body seemed to be vibrating with energy. She whimpered when Bella managed to unclasp the lace bra and tossed it carelessly down from the bed. "I need you."

Bella caressed the Blonde's collarbone with her fingertips. After a few moments she finally dared to move them lower. "So very beautiful." she mumbled when her hands massaged Rosalie's full breasts. Touching them in the flesh felt even better than Bella had remembered it. The reality was so much better than the fantasy.

"Please kiss me." Rose whimpered, moving close to Bella on the bed. She could feel that she was beginning to get wet. It usually took her forever and endless times of foreplay to get into the right mood. With Bella though, everything seemed to be so different. It was different because Rosalie knew that there could never be anyone she would trust more than she trusted Bella.

Bella brushed her lips lightly over Rosalie's mouth. "I want to kiss you very often. You don't know how much I want you."

"I want you too. Ever since you've told me about how you play with yourself." Rosalie admitted, her face flaming up in a warmish red color. "I can't stop thinking about how you touch yourself."

She kissed Bella, feeling waves of tingly heat swirl up and down her spine. In the pit of her stomach a volcano of emotions was about to erupt any second.

"That made me all hot when I told you about that." Bella said, kissing her way down Rosalie's chest. She let her tongue swirl over one of the dusky pink nipples. Under her touch it instantly morphed into a tiny hard nub that practically begged to be licked and nibbled.

Rosalie could feel the wetness beginning to pool between her thighs. There was an almost unbearable heat inside her. Instantly, she lifted her lower body up, trying to get more friction from rubbing her groin against Bella' knee.

"Fuck, Rose. What are you doing to me?" Bella groaned, sucking the hard tip of Rosalie's nipple between her lips while her hand kneaded the Blonde's other breast in a teasingly slow rhythm. "I can't get enough of you."

Bella quickly unfastened her own bra before she wrapped her arms around Rosalie again. The feeling of having her naked breast pressed so deliciously close against Rose's full globes was amazing.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Rosalie whispered. "I've never been with a woman before."

"Neither have I." Bella mumbled, thrusting her hips against Rosalie's pelvis. The friction felt so good. She needed more of it. "We'll just do what feels good."

"I'm not good in bed." Rosalie said. "You're going to be disappointed."

"Stop saying things like that. God, Rose, I'm so dripping wet right now. It's soaking through your sheets."

She took Rosalie's hand in hers and guided it to the moist fabric of her panties. A shudder of lust went through Bella's sex.

"You are wet." Rose whispered huskily, pushing the thin material a bit to the side to touch Bella's swollen clit for the first time. "Am I doing this right?"

"Yes…fuck…just like this. Don't stop." Bella managed to press out between moans. "Fuck, Rose, you're going to make me come if you keep going."

Rosalie's clit throbbed at the thought. Yes, she wanted to make Bella come. She wanted to make Bella come more than anything.

Gently Rosalie moved her fingertips through Bella's wetness, circling them up and down over the tiny pearl of Bella's clit. Then she lowered her fingers and pushed two of them a bit inside the slick heat, going deeper after a minute of giving Bella time to adjust.

"I love you so much." Rose told Bella, sucking the sweat covered skin on Bella's throat between her lips before she released it again with a soft plop. "Please, come for me, Bella. I want to feel you come undone in my arms."

Bella groaned loudly and bucked her hips up, meeting each thrust of Rosalie's slim fingers inside her. Her toes curled. The muscles in her stomach clenched. Her legs began to quiver. Then, finally the sweet release of her climax rippled through Bella, making her cry out loud.

Rosalie could feel Bella's inner walls spasm around her fingers. She raised her head, admiring how Bella panted heavily with her eyes still closed. Never before had her best friend looked more beautiful to her than now.

"Fuck, Bella. That was so hot." Rosalie said, showering Bella's face with kisses. "You look so fucking happy when you come. Did it feel good?"

"I don't have words." Bella confessed, licking her lips dreamily. "But I can show you."

Rosalie swallowed dryly. Yes, she was very aroused right now. Probably more than she had been in a very long time. She closed her eyes and lifted her hips to make it easier for Bella to remove her thong.

Moments later the pad of Bella's thumb moved up the inside of Rosalie's thigh. "You're so beautiful." Her fingertips reached the moist glistening bare lips of her best friend's clean shaven pussy. She could instantly feel her own arousal beginning to stir again when she started to finger Rosalie in circular movements.

"So, nobody has ever made you come before?" Bella whispered into Rosalie's ear. She swirled her tongue playfully over it for a moment. "I bet I could make you come. Does it feel good when I touch your little clit like this?"

"Y-y-yes." Rose stuttered. "Inside…please, Bella, I need you."

Bella put three fingers inside Rosalie's tight pussy and curled them slightly upwards, trying to increase Rosalie's pleasure.

"Fuck! Bella…oh…God…oh fuck…fuck." Rosalie felt her eyes rolling back in her head. A flash of heat and lust pulsed through her. Several throaty moans escaped her lips between heavily breaths.

Then, when Rosalie thought things couldn't get any better, Bella's warm lips kissed down her abdomen. For a moment she tensed. She had none of her previous sex partners allowed to go down on her. The whole procedure was humiliating somehow. What if she smelled bad?

But with Bella it was different. With her she could feel safe and let go. Fuck, how good it felt to have Bella kiss her here. Her mouth felt so soft. Bella's tongue that dipped between her wet folds a few moments later was like velvet. Again and again Bella swirled the tip of her tongue from the clit down to the dripping wet entrance of Rosalie's pussy and back up again.

Rosalie's entire body trembled. Her heart thundered in her chest. An incredible feeling of release spread though her, relieving the tension in several waves of pleasure.

Bella wiped a bit of wetness from her mouth. She could taste Rosalie all over her tongue and she loved the tangy taste. Her head was spinning with dizziness and her lungs ached for more oxygen.

A low whimper, followed by a sobbing noise made Bella sat up straight again. "Rose?"

"It's nothing." Rosalie croaked out between two sobs. "I'm just so very confused."

"I know." Bella stated, pulling Rosalie into a very tight embrace. "I'm confused too."

"Not like me. I love you. I want you. God, I want you so fucking badly. Does that mean I'm in love with you?"

Bella cupped Rosalie's face between both hands. "Listen to me, Beautiful. I love you too. I know it's scary because this is new for both of us. But I want to be with you."

"We can't. Not until I sort this wedding mess out."

Bella took a deep breath and lowered her lips to Rosalie's in a tender kiss. "This is love. What you and I have is love. Maybe it's not meant to be that way. I mean…with a friend but that's what it is. We love each other."

Rosalie nodded her head. "I love you, Bella. But I don't know how to act around you now. You know me so well."

Very lightly Bella brushed the tip of her forefinger down Rosalie's chin. "I know that you have this tiny scar here because you fell down from a horse in summer camp."

"I remember. They had to give me a blood transfusion. It was awful."

Bella kissed the almost invisible scar and moved down her fingers to Rosalie's nose. "I know how terribly you snore after your nose job."

Playfully she kissed the tip of Rosalie's nose. "I know all your weaknesses and I still love you. Maybe they are the reason why I love you."

"You love me because I snore?" Rosalie chuckled, snuggling closer to Bella. "That's weird."

"No, I hate the snoring. It's unbearable. I could slap your mother for talking you into getting that stupid beauty surgery."

"She thought it would help my career. Nobody could know I would end up snoring afterwards. "

Bella clicked her tongue in disapproval. "I'm glad she didn't convince you to get bigger breasts. Christ, maybe your mother should have become a model herself if she likes it that much."

Rosalie played with a wisp of Bella's hair, noticing the countless shades of coppery red in the rich brown color. "Mom almost was a model. She had a title for Miss Junior Tennessee but then she and Dad had Emmett. That was pretty much the end of her modeling career."

"So, technically, it's your brother's fault Lucy is projecting all her own dreams of you."

"That's nonsense." Rosalie protested. "Mom only wants what's best for me."

Bella shook her head and sat up. "I think what's best for you is what makes you happy."

The corners of Rosalie's mouth curled up into a smile. "You're making me very happy."

Good to know, Bella thought, pulling Rosalie closer to another kiss. "I love you. I don't know how to be together with you though."

"We don't need to tell anyone. Do we?" Rosalie asked. She was sure her mother would get a heart attack if she broke the news to her that she was with Bella now. No, she definitely wasn't ready for that.

"Are you ashamed of me?" Bella responded, sounding slightly hurt.

"What? Of course, not! It's not like that. I just need time to get used to the thought."

"I know." Bella stated. "We have time. I think Charlie will be pretty surprised too."

"Charlie loves me."

"As my friend, yes…as my lesbian lover…I don't know about that yet."

"Don't call us lesbians. It makes me feel awkward."

Bella kissed Rosalie's forehead and sighed. "Maybe we're not lesbians. I mean, we've both been with men before."

"It doesn't matter what we are, as long as we belong together." Rosalie mumbled. Then she yawned loudly. "Jeez, I don't know why I'm so tired."

"Let me think…you had alcohol and the most incredible sex in a long time?"

"You're right about the drinking." Rosalie admitted.

"I'm also right about the sex and you know it." Bella teased Rose. The Blonde grabbed a pillow and tossed it over Bella's head. "You always need to have the last word. Don't you?"

Bella laughed and managed to startle Rosalie enough to turn her flat on her stomach. "Are you trying to say that I'm bossy?" she asked, kissing Rosalie hard on her neck.

"Isn't that why you wanted to become a cop in the first place?" Rosalie asked her. "You like to tell others what to do."

"I'd like to tell you what to do. Like…get those little plastic stripes for your nose to get your snoring problem under control."

"You could get earplugs."

Bella's tongue swirled over the crescent mark her teeth had left on Rosalie's pale skin. She could feel the tiredness overwhelm her. Yet at the same time a godly feeling of joy filled her heart. Rosalie had chosen to be with her. Yes, there was still so much they needed to deal with but Bella was sure, they would manage to solve everything together. And with that thought on her mind, Bella slowly drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	22. Chapter 22

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks to all my lovely readers out there who take the time to read my little fic.

Today's update is dedicated to **HomeByTwilight** for being the _**300**__**th**_ reviewer.

_****21****_

"Good morning, Beautiful." Bella whispered softly when Rosalie started blinking tiredly at her though her silky eyelashes. "Did you sleep well?"

She circled her fingertip over Rosalie's cheek and smiled. There was a deep feeling of happiness inside her that filled Bella's heart.

"I had a dream." Rosalie mumbled rubbing her eyes. "You were in it too."

"Was it a good dream?" Bella asked, moving her fingers lower, down to where her lips had left a dark red mark on the Blonde's pale-skinned throat.

Rosalie's face turned pink with heat. "We made love. You…you made love to me."

Bella lowered her head and touched her lips very lightly against Rosalie's. "Yes, I did. You're not regretting what happened between us last night, do you?"

Rosalie shook her head no. There was no way she could ever regret making love with Bella. Her whole life, Rosalie had always craved this perfect connection of emotional and physical closeness. It had never happened to her with one of her several ex-boyfriends. Maybe she really was gay. At least, she had never felt so safe with anyone but Bella.

"But you're worried about what will happen now. Aren't you?" Bella asked, placing her hand on Rosalie's wrist. "I'm worried too. But we'll make it. I know, we will."

Rosalie sighed deeply. "I hope, we will. Hey, why don't you just hop under the shower while I make my signature breakfast for us?"

Rosalie's so-called signature breakfast was a delicious cholesterol bomb with slices of crispy bacon, buttered toast and some scrambled eggs. Before she went downstairs in the kitchen to prepare it, she had put on a long shirt and tied up her hair to have it out of the way. Rose was just about to whisk the eggs in a bowl when she heard the water of the shower running upstairs.

The thought of a naked Bella standing underneath the shower made Rosalie's inside clench with a wave of lust. She imagined how Bella was lathering her breasts with the vanilla scented body wash she always liked to use.

Breakfast can wait, Rosalie told herself, placing the eggs back into the refrigerator. Then she went upstairs again and headed for the bathroom.

Bella didn't hear her climbing into the shower and squeaked when she suddenly felt Rosalie's bare breasts against her back.

"This okay?" Rosalie whispered wrapping her arms tightly around her best friend. No, not friend, she reminded herself. It's lover now. But are we still friends too?

"It's perfect." Bella answered, turning her head to capture Rosalie's mouth in a passionate kiss. "You're perfect. I love you."

Rosalie let her hands glide up Bella's ribcage until she felt the soft roundness of Breasts against her fingertips. Yes, this was good. She wanted to feel all of Bella's soft skin.

"I've never had sex underneath a shower. Have you?" Rosalie asked, tugging playfully on the hard nipples between her fingers.

"Doesn't matter…Fuck." Bella cursed under her breathe, leaning closer against the taller woman behind her. "This feels so good. Don't stop."

"I wasn't planning on stopping." Rose stated, grabbing the bottle with the body wash from the shelf. She put a gracious dollop of the creamy soap on her hands. Then she started massaging it into Bella's neck with her right hand while the left one continued fondling Bella's breast tenderly.

"Your muscles are tensed. Maybe that's why your head is always hurting."

"Maybe." Bella breathed, closing her eyes to enjoy Rosalie's tender caresses. Between her legs, slick arousal was dripping down the inside of her thighs. Bella's clit throbbed with an almost unbearable need to be touched.

"Please," she finally whispered guiding Rose's hand down her flat abdomen. "God, yes, please touch me. I need you."

Never in her life had Rosalie felt this powerful as she did while she started rubbing her fingers through Bella's slick folds. She was the one doing this to Bella. She was the one who had exited her beloved Bella like this. It wasn't enough though. Rosalie remembered the incredible pleasure she had felt when she had Bella's warm tongue on her clit last night. She wanted to make Bella feel the same.

Carefully, Rose kneeled down and told Bella to turn around. She kissed the inside of Bella's thigh, making her way higher and higher. Rosalie's heart was in her mouth. Could she really do this? She hated giving oral sex to a guy. Her gag reflex was so strong that she had been close to throwing up during the procedure more than once.

"Please," Bella whimpered. "Please, Rose."

Rosalie's lips moved higher. At first she just pressed a couple of chaste closed-lipped kisses on Bella's mound. Then she heard Bella's soft groans, encouraging her to continue. Gently, Rose let her tongue swirl around Bella's clit.

When a strong climax ripped forcefully through her body a few minutes later, Bella had trouble keeping her balance and when she went down on Rosalie to return the pleasure her knees were still shaking slightly.

She groaned against Rosalie's pussy while she flicked her tongue up and down and around and around until Rosalie's soft cries of lust echoed in her ears.

Both women were breathing heavily when they finally stepped out of the shower together. They agreed this had been the perfect way to start their first day as lovers.

xxxx

The strong stench of antiseptics made Rosalie wrinkle her nose in disgust as she entered the hospital building. She could feel her hands were sweaty and her pulse was racing in her veins. Bella had offered to come with her when she broke the news to Carlisle but she had told her she wanted to do this on her own. Maybe it was more that she needed to do this on her own.

Taking a deep breathe, Rose walked towards the counter and forced her lips into a polite smile.

"Hi. I'm Rosalie Hale. Is Dr. Cullen in surgery right now?"

The nurse typed something into her computer before she told Rosalie that Carlisle was in his office. She thanked the woman and took the elevator up to Orthopedics.

You can fix a broken bone so easily. There are casts and metal plates and tons of other things to help with that. But fixing a broken heart? Well, that was something else…

She adjusted the silk scarf around her neck again before she knocked on Carlisle's door. There was no need to let him see the proof of her activities with Bella.

"Come in." Carlisle called. His mouth curled into a smile when he saw Rosalie walking towards him. "What a lovely surprise." He told her, reaching out his hands to embrace her.

"Can we talk?" Rosalie pleaded. "Or if you are busy, I could come back another time."

"Is something wrong, Kitty?"

Jeez, not that stupid nickname again. Well, maybe it was time to start this conversation with something easy. "I really hate when you call me Kitty."

He snickered. "But it suits you so perfectly. You are like a fierce little kitten with sharp claws."

"I don't think so. Look, I don't exactly know how to do what I'm about to do now."

Now, she finally had Carlisle's full attention. He shoved some medical magazines from the chair standing next to his own and asked Rosalie to take a seat.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me."

"I don't think I can. You're a good man. I don't want to hurt you."

She pulled out a little velvet box and placed it on his table. "I'm sorry but I can't marry you."

His bright blue eyes narrowed. For a moment he waited for the excruciating pain of loss to ripple through his heart. It didn't happen. There was sadness, yes. But it wasn't even close to how he had felt when Esme had told him their marriage was over.

"Please, say something." Rosalie whispered. "Maybe it would make you feel better to yell a bit at me."

"I don't think so, Rosalie." Carlisle sighed, closing his fist around the box with the ring. He had spent a fortune on it, but you couldn't buy love. You couldn't buy feelings and you sure as hell couldn't buy yourself a second chance.

Rosalie's stomach clenched. He was such a good guy and she was making him feel miserable by leaving him.

"I care for you." She said after a little pause to find her voice again. "You are a wonderful man."

She didn't push his hand away when he placed it on hers. "Why don't you want to be my wife?"

"I don't love you. I honestly thought I do. You made me feel like a princess and I loved that. I love the way you treat your patients and everyone around you with so much compassion. But I'm not in love with you."

"In love," Carlisle whispered, giving Rosalie's hand a gentle tug. "How did you find out you're not in love with me?"

Rosalie cleared her throat. She needed to be honest with Carlisle. He deserved to hear it.

"There's someone, I've known for a very long time. We were always just friends but then…something changed…I can't even explain it. But…we…we…,"

"Have fallen in love," he finished Rosalie's last sentence. "Does he make you happy?"

Rosalie's head nodded. "It's not him. It's her." She confessed, her cheeks turning crimson.

"A woman? Wow, that's something I hadn't expected."

"Carlisle, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about everything. I'll promise to pay for everything we can't cancel for the wedding. Just please, don't hate me."

He sighed. "How can I hate you for being honest with me? It's better to end things now before we are married. I don't want a second divorce. The first one was bad enough for me."

Rosalie freed her hand from his hold. "There is something else I need to tell you about. You ex showed up at the Garage a couple of days ago to get her car fixed."

Carlisle's lower lip quivered. It was only a moment until he regained his self-control again. "Did she say anything to you?"

"No, she didn't. I don't think she would have been so nice like she was if she knew I was your fiancée."

He took the box with the ring and flipped it open. "I told Marcus not to tell her about the wedding. Isn't that silly? I was so concerned it would hurt her feelings."

"Why did you leave her?"

"She left me." Carlisle explained. "It was my fault though. But what's done is done. I can't turn back the time, no matter how much I wish I could."

Rosalie stood up from her chair. She felt way too agitated to keep still now. Like an animal in a too small cage, she started walking up and down in Carlisle's office.

"Did you cheat on her? Is that why she left?"

"I have never cheated on a woman I loved in my entire life. With Esme and me…well, it's complicated."

Rose sat down on the couch in the corner of Carlisle's office. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

"What difference would it make? She won't forgive me, ever."

"Forgive you what?" Rosalie asked.

"I testified in court against her brother." Carlisle whispered, fisting his hands into his hair. "Family is everything to Esme and I destroyed the only one she had left by helping sent Felix to jail."

His pager went on. The loud beeping interrupted their conversation.

"I'm sorry. This is an emergency. Can I call you after my shift to talk things out? I'm sure we can still cancel the hotel and the catering."

"I'll take care of this." Rose promised. "It's my fault we're calling off the wedding. So, this is the least I can do."

Carlisle pulled Rose into a quick hug. "There is something else you need to do. Your mother won't be happy to hear we're not going to get married."

"Mom is going to freak."

"I can imagine that. Look, I have to go now. There's a bike accident coming into the E.R."

He was almost out of the room, when Carlisle turned around again. "Now, that we're not engaged anymore, I can finally tell you. Your mother Lucy is the most annoying person I have ever met in my life."


	23. Chapter 23

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for the reviews you guys left me on the last update. It's always appreciated when you take a moment to tell me what you think.

Today's chapter is dedicated to **MangekyoMasta510** and **NoPros**.

_****22****_

It had been forever since Bella had been in such an excellent mood like today. She and Rosalie were together now. The joy this thought caused her was overwhelming. All the way to Tyler's apartment she sang cheerfully to the music playing in her ancient radio.

There was no way she was going to break the news to Tyler though. He would most likely react like the jerk he was and Bella didn't want to have any of this behavior.

She parked the car and went to knock on the front door. The bell was broken and it would stay broken because Tyler didn't care enough to get it fixed.

Bella waited until the door was pulled open and she found herself face to face with a thin strawberry-haired woman. Why had he invited his slut over when Resha was here? What a goddamn jerk.

"Ty-Ty, your ex is here, Darling!"

Tyler appeared behind her and wrapped his arms around the skinny woman. He kept his eyes on Bella's face when he planted an open-mouthed kiss on his girlfriend's shoulder.

"Why don't you go back inside and wait for me." He purred softly. "I'll be with you in a minute."

Bella placed her hands on her hips. "Not necessary. Tanya can stay here. Is Resha upstairs?"

Tanya cleared her throat. "Kadesha picked her up."

"Why? Jeez, Tyler, I brought her here so that she can spend time with you. Not with your mother."

Tanya giggled stupidly. "You're right, Darling. Your ex really is a bitch."

"Maybe I'm a bitch but at least I'm not some cheap rebound fuck like you." Bella snapped. She felt very tempted to slap Tanya across her face but that would only cause unnecessary trouble. So, she just turned around and walked back to her car.

A short drive later, she had already reached the apartment complex where Tyler's mother lived. Bella and she had never really warmed up to each other. Sometimes you meet a person and instantly know you'll never be friends with him or her.

Still Bella had tried her best to be nice to Tyler's mom for Resha's sake. She had even agreed to name the second part of her daughter's name after her.

Bella sighed and turned off the engine. Kadesha owned a hairdresser's shop that was basically her second home.

A high-pitched scream filled Bella's ears when she entered the shop. She hit her head hard on some wind chimes above the door. Crap, this was going to leave a bruise.

"NANA! IT BURNS! IT BURNS!"

"What the fuck are doing here with her?" Bella snarled, kneeling down next to her sobbing daughter. "Honey, it's okay. We'll just wash it off again. Mommy is sorry."

"No, you won't touch her hair." Kadesha stated. "We need to keep the relaxer on for at least 6 more minutes."

I can kill you in six minutes and get rid of your corpse, Bella thought angrily. "Don't you have a heart? She's crying!"

"Honey, it's not that bad. Is it? You want your hair to be pretty. Don't you, sweetie?"

"B-b-but it hurts!" Resha sobbed. "You d-d-did not tell me it w-w-would hurt."

"Four more minutes." Her grandmother cheered the girl on. "You can do it. If you're brave, I'll buy you a new doll."

"H-h-hurts," the girl stuttered, sniffing back her snot. She had thought getting her hair done would be nice. It wasn't nice at all. It was just awful. The smelly stuff her Nana had put on her hair was burning like fire on her scalp. Four minutes? How long was four minutes?

"Listen, if you don't wash this shit from her hair right now, you're going to regret it." Bella told Resha's grandmother.

Kadesha rolled her eyes at Bella. "Stay out of things that don't concern you. Sweetie, you asked Nana to do your hair. Haven't you?"

"Fuck, you are dumb or something?" Bella was yelling now. "Wash that crap from her hair right now!"

"Two more minutes, Sweetie." Kadesha told Resha, completely ignoring Bella next to her.

The little one's cries turned into a hysterical screaming when her grandmother eventually maneuvered her over to the sink and started rinsing off the relaxer. "It burns! It burns! Nana, my eyes!"

"Keep them closed. We're almost done."

"You're done now." Bella snapped, wrapping a towel around Resha's head. She lifted the girl up and cradled her against her chest. "It's okay, honey. It's okay."

"Am I pretty now?" Resha asked, blinking at her mother through her burning eyes. The burn in her eyes was even worse than on her head. Yes, she did want to be pretty but not if it made her blind.

Bella took a deep breathe, trying to calm herself a bit. She hated nothing more than to see her daughter cry. Seeing Resha in pain cut into Bella's heart like a sharp knife.

"Mommy thinks you're always pretty." Bella whispered, sitting down on a plastic chair with Resha on her lap. "Do we want to look how your hair turned out?"

Resha nodded, wiping some snot from her chin. The moment Bella pulled the towel from her head seemed magical to the girl. Where a mess of tousled brown curls had been before was now silky smooth hair that fell past her shoulders.

"Lovely isn't it?" Kadesha said, running a thick brush through the dripping wet hair. "I told you Nana will make you pretty."

"Her hair was okay the way it was." Bella stated. "You are crazy to put chemicals on a six-year-olds head."

Kadesha clicked her tongue. "It won't do any harm."

"You better hope it won't. Resha, sweetie, tell your grandmother good bye now. We're leaving."

xxxx

Bella had treated herself and Resha to some delicious ice-cream before she had driven the car to Lucy's house. Rosalie's mother wouldn't take the news about the called off wedding too good. Bella wanted to be sure to have Rosalie's back when she told her.

When Rosalie opened the door, Bella had to resist the almost unbearable urge to pull the blonde woman into a passionate kiss. They needed to save that for once they would be alone again. Bella wanted to be alone with Rosalie very often from now on.

"Hey, sweetie pie." Rose greeted Resha. "What happened to your hair?"

"Don't ask." Bella sighed. "Have you told your mother yet?"

"Told me what?" Lucy asked, walking towards them. "Oh Resha, girl, you look so pretty now. Doesn't she look pretty, Rosie?"

They walked inside the living room where Resha instantly pressed her face against the vitrine. So many beautiful Tiaras! If only Lucy would allow her to play with them…

"I hope you're not hungry." Lucy stated apologetically. "The boys were here for lunch and they wolf down enough for five."

"We're not hungry, Lucy. Thank you."

"Good. Resha, please don't touch the glass. You're going to leave fingerprints on it."

"Mom, let her be." Rose stated. "Resha, do you want to go upstairs and see if you can find Mr. Jenks somewhere? He loves when you come to visit him."

Mr. Jenks was Lucy's high prized Maine Coon cat. Now, that her daughter wasn't a cute little beauty queen any longer Lucy needed someone else that she could present in the spot light of cameras.

As soon as Resha was gone, Bella spoke up. "Lucy, there is something Rose wants to tell you. I hope you'll take it like an adult."

Rosalie's mother cringed. Her lips twitched into a fake smile. "I already know what she wants to tell me. Rosalie, if you don't want to wear my dress. That's no big deal."

Rosalie coughed. "It's not about the dress, Mom. It's about the whole wedding."

"Sweetie, don't worry." Lucy told Rosalie, petting her shoulder. "Like I told you before, every bride tends to get cold feet before her big day."

"Mom, stop it. I…I…I'm not going to get married to Carlisle."

Lucy's mouth fell open. It took her a full minute until she managed to close it again and speak. "Rosie, darling, tell me you're trying to make a joke."

"Mom, I'm serious. I already spoke to Carlisle and gave him the ring back."

"Are you insane? Nobody gives back a three carat ring from Tiffany's!"

"Lucy, stop yelling at her." Bella said, wrapping her arm protectively over Rosalie's shoulder. "It's between Rosalie and Carlisle if she wants to call off the wedding."

Lucy's lower lip trembled. Rosalie's eyes filled with tears she desperately tried to hold at bay. She had known her mother would take the news badly. Crap.

"Don't cry, darling. I'm sure if you call Carlisle and tell him you were just overreacting, he'll understand."

"Mom, don't you get it? I don't love Carlisle. I thought I do. Do you want to know why? Because you told me what I felt when I was with him was love! But it's not."

Lucy burst into tears. How could Rosalie make her feel like this was her fault now? Who in heaven's name was so stupid to call off a wedding with a doctor!

"I've never been so ashamed of one of my kids like I am now." She sobbed, knowing that her tears would most likely make Rosalie feel guilty. Maybe a bit of guilt would bring her daughter back to her senses. "I'm sure your poor father turns over in his grave right now."

Having her dead father mentioned broke the rest of Rosalie's self-control. She started crying, barely noticing how the front door was opened again and her brothers walked in.

"Mom, why are you crying?" Jasper asked, kneeling down next to his mother. "Did something happen?"

"Your sister," Lucy croaked hoarsely. "She wants to bring me to my grave."

"Rose, what's wrong?" Emmett asked, sitting down next to Rosalie on the couch. "It can't be that bad."

"I c-c-called of-f-f the w-w-wedding." Rosalie stuttered out between sobs. "I broke up with Carlisle."

"Good riddance! Um, I mean, I'm sorry to hear that." Rosalie's older brother said, unable to suppress a wide grin.

"You need to help me make her see reason." Lucy pleaded, rubbing a trail of smeared mascara from underneath her eyes. "She's making herself miserable."

"I don't think so, Mom." Emmett stated. "Jazz, why don't you get a bottle of the whisky Uncle Peter sent us last Christmas? It will help to calm Mom's nerves."

"This is just horrible!" Lucy called out. "I don't understand why she's doing this to me."

"Mom! Calm down. I'm sure Rosie isn't calling off the wedding to upset you."

"Yes, that's true." Rosalie whispered her voice barely audible. "I'm so sorry, Mom."

"You don't have anything to apologize for." Bella stated, pulling Rose closer against her own body.

"Bella's right. Christ, I'm so glad you came back to your senses before it was too late." Emmett told his sister. He reached for her hand and gave it a careful tug. "Everything is going to be okay."

"Nothing is going to be okay." Lucy stated, taking the glass with the whisky her youngest son handed her. She gulped the alcohol down in several small sips. Then she grabbed the bottle Jasper had put on the desk in front of them and went upstairs.

"Why are you crying?" Resha asked, looking up from the corner of the guest bed where she had snuggled up with the cat. If only her mother would allow her to get her own cat. There couldn't be anything better than having your own cat, could there be?

"It doesn't matter." Lucy whined, lifting the bottle with the whisky to her mouth. "Please go downstairs. I need some rest."

"Are you sick?"

"Please, Resha. You're a big girl and should understand, aren't you? I want to be alone now."

Resha stroked over Mr. Jenks fluffy head for a last time before she stood up from the bed again and went downstairs to the living room.

"Mommy, why is Lucy crying?"

"She's upset." Bella explained. That woman is a bit too hysterical, Bella added in her head. She pulled Resha on her lap and weaved her fingers through her daughter's strangely smooth hair. "Sometimes adults like to be on their own when they are upset about something."


	24. Chapter 24

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to a brand new update, my lovely readers. I hope you are having as much fun reading this little fic as I'm having while I write it for you.

_FAQ's_

Resha's name is a mixture of her two grandmothers names; Renee and Kadesha. It's kind of the same like Bella made up Renesmee's name in BD. The name Resha though really exists. It means rope in Arabian.

The chapter below is dedicated to **sydneyw3 **for providing me with such a great visual role model for dear old Lucy.

_****23****_

Esme Cullen was usually a woman who was a very happy person. She successfully managed to arrange her time between her full-time job at the hospital, her little adopted daughter and the weekly visits to her younger brother in jail. The copper-haired nurse liked keeping herself busy. It helped her avoiding thoughts of self-pity and loneliness. It was pathetic in her eyes, how even after over five years, she still couldn't manage to sleep on the right side of her bed at night because that was _his _place.

"Is something wrong, Momma?" Senna asked, cradling her doll tightly against her chest. "Are you sad?"

"Everything is fine, sweetie." Esme told her daughter, trying to make her voice sound cheerful even when she felt more like crying. "Do you want us to go over to the swings before we go home again?"

Senna nodded her head. "Later. I want to feed the ducks first. Do we have some more bread?"

Esme pulled out a plastic bag and handed it to her daughter. "You stay close where Momma can see you, okay?"

Senna walked off, dropping down on the ground next to the lake in the middle of the park. The little girl loved animals more than anything.

A deep sigh left Esme's mouth. She was so terribly stupid. She shouldn't be taking the news she had found out about earlier so hard. Carlisle and she were divorced. It was to be expected that they moved on; moving on irrevocably included new partners.

Still, when Marcus's youngest daughter Jane had told her about uncle Carlisle's upcoming wedding, it had hurt Esme deeply. He was going to get married again. A girl that was almost young enough to be their daughter. Crap, was this some case of early midlife crisis? Did he have to marry a younger woman to feel like he was still a glamour boy?

It's none of your business anymore, Esme tried to remind herself. The dull pain inside her though, it wouldn't go away.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" A nasal voice asked her overly politely. "It's a lovely Sunday afternoon today. Isn't it?"

Esme forced her mouth into a joyful smile for the nice stranger. "Indeed it is."

"I'm a bit of a hobby photographer. There's nothing better than taking some pictures of trees in the sunlight."

He held the display of his camera up to Esme to show her a few of his works, leaning a bit closer to her. "Do you think they turned out alright?"

"Very nice," Esme mumbled before taking a look over to where Senna was feeding the ducks while she prattled on to them nonstop. I wish she would talk that much to people, Esme thought. It was worrying her a bit that Senna was so shy all the time.

"Are you babysitting?" the guy asked, playing around on his camera. Then he lifted it up again and took a few quick shots of the little girl at the lake. This was much better than taking pictures of stupid trees. He could barely manage to hide his inner excitement.

"I'm not babysitting. Senna is my daughter." Esme told him. "I adopted her from Somalia."

"Really? That's so selfless to decide taking care of a stranger's child. I can only admire you and your husband."

Esme waved her left hand at him with a sad expression on her heart-shaped face. "No husband. It's just Senna and me."

The thinly moustache above the man's mouth twitched. "Well, that's sad. Sometimes relationships just don't work out."

"Yes, that's true." Esme sighed, rubbing her hands together. It was starting to get cold. Maybe she should better take Senna home before the girl would catch another cold again.

"My name is Royce." the man introduced himself, holding his hand up to Esme. "Royce King."

"Nice to meet you Royce," Esme responded, her lips curling up into a warm-hearted smile. If Carlisle had moved on, so would she…

xxxx

Meanwhile at the other side of the park, Rosalie and Bella were having a hard time keeping their hands off each other. No, they couldn't make out when Resha was around. They needed to explain their new relationship to her first. But how do you explain to a child that her mother is in love with one of her female friends now?

"My mother is never going to talk to me again." Rosalie stated. "She hates me."

"Lucy is going to survive. Maybe Jazz and his new girlfriend are going to get married soon."

"Yes, maybe they will. It would make Mom happy."

Bella took a quick look over to the swings where Resha was sitting. Then she placed her hand on Rosalie's to caress the back of her lover's hand with her fingertips. "I want to kiss you so badly right now."

"Come here." Rosalie whispered cupping Bella's cheek in her free hand. "Before the little princess sees us."

Bella sighed when she felt the velvety soft touch of Rosalie's lips against her mouth a split second later. If only she could stay a couple of days longer in Seattle with Rose. Bella knew it was impossible. Resha had school and she needed to be at the police station tomorrow morning. "We'll see each other next weekend. Won't we?"

Rosalie nodded before she moved closer to Bella on the bench and leaned her head against Bella's shoulder. "You could move back to Seattle, you know? My apartment is big enough for all three of us."

"My job is in Forks." Bella sighed.

"Seattle is full of criminals that are only waiting for you to arrest them. I bet the police department would take you back in a heartbeat."

"Well, maybe they would. But I don't want to make Resha switch school again."

Rosalie circled her fingertips over Bella's wrist. "I'm sure she'll manage to make friends again here soon."

Bella kissed Rosalie fully on her lips again. "You are pretty persistent when you want something."

"Not something." Rosalie laughed. "Someone, right now that someone is you, Bella."

Bella let her hand move over Rosalie's knee for a few minutes before she rested it on the blonde's slim thigh again. "I want to tell Charlie about us. That would be okay. Wouldn't it?"

"Of course, it's okay." Rose told Bella. "You won't be angry at me if I won't tell my mother any time soon."

Bella shook her head. "We'll cross that bridge when the right time comes. I don't mind being your secret for a while."

"You're not my secret. You are my girlfriend." Rosalie said, planting another quick kiss on Bella's mouth.

"Say it again." Bella asked. "This is was the first time you called me that."

"My girlfriend," Rosalie repeated in a soft voice. "My beautiful, strong, thick-headed, sexy—"

"MOMMY!" Resha's loud scream interrupted the couple's tender moment. "Mommy, this girl here pushed me!"

"Don't start fighting." Bella called, jumping up from the bench. "Rose, I'll be right back."

Bella rushed towards the swings and kneeled down in front of her daughter. "Are you hurt, sweetie?"

"No, but she pushed me from the swing." Resha told her mother, pointing reproachfully to the smaller girl who was sitting on the swing next to them.

"Senna, you are going to apologize to that girl right now." A petite red-head snapped at the girl, sounding embarrassed. "Ma'am, I'm sorry. My daughter knows better."

"But she was on that swing forever!" Senna called out, trying to defend herself. Her older cousin Jane had told her that you needed to fight for it if you wanted something. Now her mother was angry at her for it. How unfair was that?

"Senna, I mean it. Apologize or we are not going to come back to the park anytime soon."

"I'm sorry." Senna mumbled, hopping down from the swing again. "I really wanted to get on the swing. It's my favorite."

"It's my favorite too." Resha stated, pulling the strings of the swing back. "Do you want me to push you like really high? That's fun."

"Yes," Senna squeaked, sitting down again quickly.

"I don't think we're needed here any longer." Bella whispered to the other girl's mother. "I'm glad though there were no tears involved."

"Senna only cries when I do her hair." The woman stated. She wiped some grass from her hand and offered it to Bella. "Hi, I'm Esme. Do you and your family live nearby?"

"No, we're from Forks." But maybe I'll move back here to Seattle very soon, she added in her head. The thought made the young woman smile big. She could picture herself living together with Rosalie. It was going to be amazing.

"That's too bad you're not from here." Esme said. "Senna doesn't make friends easily and she seems to be fond of your daughter."

"Resha is a dear girl. I'm very proud of her."

"I can understand that."

"Yes, but I feel like I'm being too strict with her sometimes. Everyone tells me that."

"Everyone's not her mother. You are the one raising her. Sometimes being a mom is difficult."

"You are so right about that. It's especially tough when you're trying to do it on your own."

"Nobody knows that better than me." Esme sighed, closing her hand around the tiny card in the pocket of her jacket. Royce's cheeks had been covered in a faint blush when he had handed it to her earlier. Maybe it really was time for her to start moving on. She needed to move on, whether she was ready for it or not.

"I'm sorry. My friend is waiting for me over there." Bella told Esme. "It was nice talking to you. Your daughter is a pretty little thing."

When she walked over to Rosalie again, the tall Blonde pulled her towards her.

"What were you talking there to Carlisle's ex?"

"That's Carlisle's ex-wife?" Bella asked in disbelief. "Wow, she's nice. I wonder why he left her."

Rosalie sat down on the wooden bench again, not letting go of Bella's hand. She wanted to hold it for the entire time until Bella would have to leave for her drive back to Forks tonight.

"Esme left him, not the other way round." Rose explained. "He told me that she was pretty furious at him for helping bringing her brother behind bars."

"I can imagine that."

"He still has feelings for her. Well, I think that he still has feelings for her." Rosalie told Bella. "You should have seen the look on his face when he told me about her."

Bella wrapped her arms around Rosalie's waist, snuggling against her from behind. "I'm glad to see you don't have any feelings for him. You don't have any. Right?"

"I like Carlisle a great deal. But I'm not in love with him." Rosalie assured Bella leaning back against Bella's tight embrace. "The only person I'm in love with is you."

"I love you too, Beautiful." Bella whispered. "I don't think I have ever been as happy as this in my whole life."

"Same here," Rosalie responded. She let her fingers move down Bella's forearm to draw an invisible heart on the skin there. "God, I really wish you could stay one more night."

"I can't. But I promise to call you every day until we see each other again."

"That sounds like a good plan to me." Rose said, pushing Bella's hair over her shoulder so that she could quickly plant a kiss on the brunette's shoulder. "You will think about my suggestion to move in with me. Will you?"

"Yes, of course, I will." Bella said. "Look, if this was just about me. I would say yes in a heartbeat. But I have to think about what's best for Resha too."

Rosalie gave Bella's hand a light squeeze. "I know that. Am I being too selfish? Because I could also move to Forks for you, if you really want to stay there."

"What about your job at that Uley place? You like working there."

"I can fix cars anywhere." Rosalie said. "The guys at my work are a bunch of sexist douchebags that surely wouldn't miss me too much if I quit."


	25. Chapter 25

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to a new update, my dear readers. Thanks for your reviews. I love hearing your thoughts on my fic.

Today's chapter is dedicated to **SOFisticated1** because she knows how my crazy mind works like.

_****24****_

"Why did she call off the wedding?" Alice whispered to Jasper who was sitting next to her in the last row. He had just told her that his older sister had cancelled her wedding unexpectedly. Alice chewed on the end of her pen and tried to ignore the rumbling in her stomach. This morning she hadn't felt like eating anything before class and now she felt famished. Lunch break couldn't come soon enough, she thought.

"Because she's a moody bitch, that's why" Jasper stated. "Mom is so upset about the whole incident. She spent the rest of the weekend crying in her room."

Alice coughed. "Don't you think that's she's overreacting a bit? It wasn't her wedding."

Jasper reached out his hand and pulled the book that was lying between them closer to him. "Mom is pretty emotional. She didn't handle it well when my father died."

"There's therapy for this kind of problems. You should know about it."

"I don't need anyone telling me that my mother is crazy. She's been through a lot."

"Mr. Hale, Miss Brandon is there anything you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" The professor's deep voice echoed angrily through the room. "This class is about mental disorders. It's not a place to hook up with other students."

The rest of the class started cheering and laughing. Alice's face turned crimson. How embarrassing. She cringed and moved as far away from Jasper on the bench as it was possible. God, how much she hated this jerk. If only he hadn't caught her and J. together.

Yes, it was wrong of her to sleep with her married professor. But blackmailing her for doing it was surely as much wrong as the affair itself.

Finally after twenty more almost unendurable minutes the bell started ringing and ended the class. Alice practically jumped from her seat, finding herself stopped by Jasper's grip around her wrist.

"Wait, you need to come with me." He demanded. "Emmett and I are taking Mom out to lunch to cheer her up a little."

"What does that have to do with me?" Alice snarled, pulling her hand away from him.

"I told Mom, you'd be coming with us." Jasper told the dainty girl next to him. "She likes you."

"Everyone likes me." Alice responded. "But I don't have time for lunch right now. There's something I need to talk about with J., I mean with Professor Hunter."

"You're really a slut." Jasper chuckled. "Nobody would assume that from such a nice girl like you."

"I hope your boyfriend's cock suffocates you the next time you suck it." Alice hissed, grabbing her bag. "Fine, I'll go with you, but I need to speak to J. first. He's waiting for me in his office."

All the way through the corridor and up to the second floor where Professor Hunter's office was located Alice tried to keep her head up and the tears from falling. Jasper was such an asshole. What was between her and J. was love, true, passionate love. Now that she was going to tell him, he was going to be a Dad he'd finally leave his stupid wife for her.

"Come in," J. called when she knocked on the wooden door. As soon as she had stepped inside the room, he turned the key around in the lock.

"I don't wish to be interrupted while I'm with you, my little vixen." He murmured, hugging her tightly from behind. She could feel his excitement against her backside and sighed.

Not now, she thought. "Can we talk first?" Alice asked, trying to free herself of his embrace. J. liked it rough and maybe sex could harm the baby. Could it?

"Talking," Professor Hunter murmured, running his hand down to Alice's chest. "Talking is not the reason why I wanted to see you today."

"James, please." Alice said. "It's important."

He sighed and caressed the small roundness of Alice's breasts through her blouse. "What could be more important than this?"

"It has to do with us." Alice whispered. "James, do you love me? Do you really love me?"

He smiled against her shoulder before he pressed a kiss on it. "Of course I love you, my silly girl."

Alice took a deep breathe. Then she pressed out the next sentence as fast as she could. "I'm pregnant."

James dropped his hands from her. He stepped back and leaned against the bookshelf at the right corner of his office. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm not. I made a test. I mean I made several tests and my OB/GYN has confirmed the pregnancy. Now, are you mad at me?"

The man's eyes narrowed. He had trouble keeping his temper under control. His life had gone so smoothly in the last years. His career was successful and he had enough ambition to become the next Dean when the old fucker retired. The last thing he needed now was a little bitch trying to shit with him.

"Is it from me?" he asked Alice, his voice trembling because he felt more like yelling at her right now. What was so difficult in remembering to take your fucking pill every morning?

"Of course it's yours. Why are you asking that?"

"Because you're a goddamn whore." He snapped. "I bet you've probably slept around your way all over the campus."

Alice felt red hot anger spreading through her. How could he dare to call her a whore? She had been a virgin before she had met him. J.'s reaction to the pregnancy news was way worse than she had ever expected it.

"Look, I love you. This baby is ours. I've never been with anyone apart from you. We can make this work somehow."

James made a noise that reminded Alice of the growling of a large dog. He jumped towards her and pushed her forcefully against his mahogany desk. "Is three-hundred bucks enough to solve the little accident?" he hissed, fumbling for his wallet.

"You don't to give me money for an abortion? That's out of the question. I've decided that I want to keep the baby."

He dropped a pile of books from his desk and growled again. "You're going to do what I tell you to, you little whore! Or there'll be consequences."

"Let me go." She pleaded. "You are hurting me."

"It's going to hurt a lot more when I'm finished with you."

Alice grabbed the next object she could reach with her fingers and tossed it over J.'s head with as much force as she was capable of. He tumbled to the floor and she managed to make it to the door in a flash.

Her hands were quivering so much it was making it difficult for her to open the lock again. Tears were pouring down her cheeks, ruining the carefully applied make-up within seconds. She had made such an effort today to look most beautiful for J. Now, she felt so stupid for it.

"What the hell is going on here?" Emmett called out, when Jasper's girlfriend wrapped her arms around his brother. "Did she fail a class?"

"Alice, stop with the crying." Jasper told her. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

"Don't tell me what is bad! You know shit!" Alice sobbed. "All of you know shit!"

"Jazz, I think your girlfriend is losing it." Emmett stated. "Good thing we are close to the asylum two blocks away from here."

James stood up from the floor, rubbing his temple. "Girlfriend? You're Hale's girlfriend now?"

Alice sniffed and took two steps away from Jasper. That she had let this asshole see her cry…

"It's not like you think it is, J." she told James, rubbing her left hand that was throbbing from when he had grabbed her so harshly earlier.

"Rumors say you prefer ass to pussy." James stated, glaring at Jasper with disgust. "But I know that Alice is tight either way."

The next thing James felt was how a fist connected painfully with his nose. Blood splattered. Pain rippled through James' face with so much force it knocked out the breath of him. Then a second hit against his stomach made him fall over and cough up a mixture of blood and saliva.

"Stop it!" Alice called out. "Emmett, stop it! You are hurting him!"

"Jazz, aren't you going to do anything to defend her? She's your girlfriend and he's talking about her like she's some random whore."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Alice screeched. "Jasper is gay! He's gay!"

"Lower your voice, Alice." James coughed, spitting out a bit more blood. His nose felt like it was broken. Crap, it was definitely broken. How was he going to explain that to Victoria?

"You are gay?" Emmett asked his younger brother. "I thought you'd swing both ways?"

"That's what I told Mom to make her feel better." Jasper explained. "You know how she's like."

Emmett nodded his head. "I still don't understand why you are pretending to be dating Alice then?"

"Jeez, you are really fucking slow, aren't you?" Alice said to Emmett. "Your brother found out I'm sleeping with our professor. That's why he's blackmailing me to be his alibi girlfriend."

Jasper whined when Emmett grabbed him roughly by his shoulders. "Is that true, you little shit?"

"Brandon, Hale, you are both excluded from my class for the rest of the semester." James snapped, holding a tissue against his bleeding nose. "And you, Sir, should be glad if I'm not going to press charges against you."

"Do what you feel you must." Emmett told James, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "But I'm sure the Dean of this place wouldn't like it too much to know you are molesting female students."

"Molesting her? She threw herself at me like the whore she is!" James hissed, earning himself a third punch that ended up on his jaw this time.

"I would break your nose too, if you weren't my brother." Emmett stated, smacking Jasper against his head. "You are not only gay. You are a fucking coward on top of it."

Alice sobbed silently. Her legs felt boneless, making it impossible for her to move. Eventually though, she made it outside of James's office and rushed downstairs. She needed to get away from here. She would call her father and make up some excuse on why she needed to transfer to another college. Damn it, where were her car keys?

"You left your bag at prince Charming's dungeon." Emmett said, tossing the leather bag to the crying girl. "Wow, you catch well for someone with such small hands."

"Save your shit, for someone who cares hearing it!" Alice yelled, another sob shaking her delicate body. She was angry and felt terribly humiliated on top of it.

When Emmett blocked her way to the door of her car, she punched her fist against his forearm.

"Harder. I didn't feel anything."

"I hate you. Get out of my way. I want to go home now."

He sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'm not letting you drive when you are agitated like this."

Alice sobbed and leaned back against the hood of her car. "Just so you know. I happen to be an excellent driver."

Emmett smirked and pointed to the damaged bumper. "I can see that."

"It was just a little accident." Alice told him. Just a little accident, she thought bitterly. J. had referred to the baby as a little accident too. She hated him so much right now that it was physically painful.

"My sister could fix this for you." Emmett said. "She's good at stuff like that."

"I don't need anyone of your stupid family fixing anything!" Alice hissed, wiping a bit of snot from her running nose. "Your brother is an asshole who's been blackmailing me for weeks now."

Emmett fumbled around in the depth of Alice's huge handbag until he finally managed to pull out a package of tissues. "Blow your nose and clean up yourself. There's black crap all over your cheeks."

"That's waterproof Chanel mascara and not crap." Alice said, taking the tissue from him. A sudden wave of dizziness spread through her and she had to steady herself by leaning on to Emmett's tale frame.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, carefully cupping her face in his hand. She really was a tiny thing, not even high enough to reach his shoulder. Something deep inside Emmett clenched for a second. He had a preference for dainty women. Not that it mattered right now.

"Are you hurt?" he asked again, stepping back from her when she assured him that she was okay.

"I'm fine." Alice stated. There's no need to worry. Can you let me drive home again now? I feel like spending the rest of this shitty day in bed."


	26. Chapter 26

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome back to a new chapter, my dear readers. I feel blessed to have you by my side for this fic. Without you, I could never do it.

Today's update is dedicated to **Villemo79** and **LoveSKINS94**

_****25****_

Bella placed another box with old files on her desk and sighed. It seemed this annoying work just wouldn't end. She grabbed the dust-covered folder that was lying on top of the box and opened it up.

Her phone started ringing. Bella was glad to get a distraction from her boring task and picked up. "Forks Police station, this is Deputy Swan speaking."

The first noise that reached her ears was a light giggle. "Hello, is there the police? I'd like to report a crime."

Clearing her throat, Bella tried her best to keep her voice serious when she spoke up. "Yes, Ma'am, this is the police. What kind of crime would you like to report?"

Rosalie made another giggling noise. "I've been robbed. Someone has stolen my heart."

"Do you think you could describe the thief?" Bella asked, barely able to keep herself from laughing.

"Well, she's around 5.5…has long brown hair and the cutest little apple shaped backside you could imagine, Officer."

Bella burst into laughter. "You like my butt?"

"I like all about you." Rosalie stated. "Are you busy? I'm not keeping you from something important, am I?"

"No, it's fine. I'm just playing secretary here for Charlie while he's on patrol doing actual police work."

Rosalie clicked her tongue and hummed before she responded. "Maybe he's just trying to keep you safe."

"He knows I can defend myself. This is Forks. Traffic offenses are like 90 percent of our daily routine."

"I know. Look, I've been thinking. All those damaged cars and bikes. Where do people go to get them fixed? Black's Garage down in LA Push is a shit place. He's charging way too much."

Bella nodded in agreement. "I know. People here complain about that all the time."

"See, that's what I thought too." Rosalie said. "I'm not sure yet, but maybe…maybe I'd like to open my own garage."

"That sounds like a great plan." Bella encouraged her. "I like the idea."

"I do too, but it's also a question of money. I could get some extra modeling jobs again but I don't really want to do this crap anymore."

"Well, maybe you could consider it for a while, if it helps with the money thing." Bella suggested.

She could hear Rosalie slurping on something. "What are you drinking?"

"Some vanilla milkshake, it's delicious. Models are never allowed to have milkshakes. It's such a sad life."

"Is that the reason why you'd rather be a mechanic? So that you could eat what you like?"

Rosalie slurped again. "No that not the reason." She said. "I just like fixing things. Fixing things makes me feel like I have control and I like that."

Bella closed her eyes for a moment, picturing Rosalie's round ass bend forward over the engine of a car. The thought made her insides tingle pleasantly. How could she not have realized how sexy Rose was? It was like she had been half-blind for a very long time.

"I love you, Beautiful. I want to tell you again and again."

"I love you too." Rosalie whispered. "And I already miss you so much." She sighed deeply. "Hey, before I forget it. Do you know what kind of trouble one would get for breaking someone's nose?"

"It depends on the circumstances. Did you attack someone?" Bella asked, standing up from her chair so quickly that she dropped a pile of paper from the desk in front of her. "Rose?"

"No, I didn't do anything. It's Emmett. He punched one of Jasper's professors."

"Why would he do something so stupid? Jasper could get expelled."

"Well, apparently the professor said something inappropriate about Alice and Emmett had to play superhero to defend her." Rose told Bella.

"Defend her? He had to break the other guy's nose to defend her? How about handling conflicts with words, not fists?"

"I'm sure he didn't want to use as much force but you know my brother is a pretty big guy."

Bella coughed and grabbed the bottle of water standing next to her, lifting it up to take a sip. "Shouldn't that be Jasper's job to defend his girfriend?"

"Don't mention the idiot. I'm so mad at him."

"What for?" Bella asked, sitting down on her chair again.

"Well, it looks like I'm not the only person in the Hale family who is…kind of interested in the own gender."

Bella's face felt suddenly warmer when Rosalie said the last sentence.

"He blackmailed Alice into playing his girlfriend. How stupid can one get?"

"Why would she let him blackmail her?" Bella asked, twisting the cord of the phone around her finger.

"Jasper found out that she's having an affair with her professor."

"Is that the same jerk whom Emmett hit?"

"It's the very same, Bella. God, I'm so pissed at Jasper. He's such a little jerk."

The door of the police station was opened and Bella told Rosalie goodbye. She promised her that she would call her again later tonight. The next following days wouldn't be easy for the couple. Bella could feel the fine hairs on her forearm rising up when she thought about how they would celebrate their reunion.

"Get inside you two." Charlie snapped angrily, pushing two young boys into the office.

Bella looked up instantly recognizing Jacob and Seth. Seth looked like he was going to start crying any moment.

"Please, Sir, can't you just let us go?" Jake pleaded while he gave Seth's hand an encouraging squeeze. "We're really sorry."

Charlie coughed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You'll be way sorrier when your parents come here and pick you up." He stated in a strict voice.

"Da- Chief Swan is that really necessary?" Bella asked her father. She felt sorry for the boys. They sure had a tendency to get themselves into trouble.

"Yes, Deputy Swan, it is necessary. Mrs. Newton has pressed charges against them." Charlie pulled out a box of condoms and some Vaseline. "She caught them trying to steal this."

"Sir, we're sorry." Seth whined. "We'll never do it again. Just don't call my mother. She's going to freak."

Freaking out didn't exactly describe the reaction of Seth's mother when she showed up at the police station half an hour later.

"Seth Henry Clearwater. I'm so ashamed of you!" She yelled. Then she turned to Jacob, her dark eyes glaring at him feisty. "I told you to stay the hell away from my son!"

"Ma'am, I think we should all sit down and talk." Charlie suggested. "Getting loud won't make anything better."

"I'm not loud. I just speak passionately." The raven-haired woman snapped. "Sir, all of this is Black's fault. He's a bad influence. You should lock him up and throw away the key."

"Mom!" Seth protested. "I was the one who took the condoms, not Jake."

"What would you need condoms for?" His mother asked, grabbing the package from Charlie's desk. "Chief Swan, if I pay for those, will you please not file a report against my son?"

"I think it's too late for that, Ma'am." Charlie stated. "But maybe we can sort something out. A few hours of working in the retirement home downtown would surely help with this."

"Changing old grandmas diapers?" Seth whined. "That's gross."

"You are going to do what the Officer tells you to." Seth's mother stated, speaking in a tone that didn't allow any back talking. "God, I'm so glad that your father is dead and doesn't know about this. You are nothing but trouble."

"Mom, I'm sorry."

"You'll be sorry when we get home. Officer Swan, can I call you later to arrange my son's volunteer work in the retirement home?"

She grabbed Seth by his arm, forcing him to let go of Jake's hand. The boy's eyes filled with tears when he exchanged a last look with his boyfriend.

"Now on to you, Jake," Charlie told Jacob who was staring towards the window as if he wanted to jump out of it to escape.

"Let me go. My father's health isn't well. If you call him and tell him I got arrested, he's going to get a heart attack."

Charlie shook his head. "Maybe you should have considered that before you stole something."

Jake sat down on the chair across Charlie's desk and cleared his throat. "We didn't have any other choice. Both of us are broke. Should we risk not having safe sex just because we don't have money?"

"Safe sex?" Charlie asked. "I don't understand."

"Chief Swan, I think he's trying to tell you that he and the other boy are romantically involved." Bella said, trying to avoid eye-contact with her father. Instead she kept her face on her laptop and continued typing up old files.

Jacob's father came to pick up his son after about another hour of waiting. He was leaning on crutches and snapped at the poor boy in such a harsh tone it made Bella cringe. Yes, what they had done was wrong. But it had just been a stupid package of condoms. Not drugs or car theft.

When they were gone, Charlie chuckled. "Never would have guessed these two are _that _way. They look so normal."

"_That_ way?" Bella mumbled. "The word is gay, Dad. There is nothing wrong with being gay."

"Yes, sure." Charlie responded. "I didn't mean it like that."

Bella took a deep breathe. She had planned on telling Charlie tonight after she had brought Resha to bed. Maybe though right now was the best opportunity to spill the news about her and Rose.

"Dad, you know how I told you that Rosalie cancelled the wedding." Bella said.

"Sure, kid. I can't say I'm too sad about it. Rushing into a marriage is never a good thing. You can see that with your mother and me. Not that nothing good came out of it." He stated, petting his daughter's shoulder.

"Dad, there is a reason why Rosalie broke up with Carlisle. It has to do with me."

Charlie petted Bella's shoulder again. "You were right for telling her that the wedding is a stupid idea. That's what friends are for."

Bella could feel her hands starting to sweat. She hated that she was so nervous about telling Charlie. It was as if she was ashamed and that clearly wasn't the case. She loved Rose. There wasn't anything wrong about it.

"Dad, I love Rose and she loves me."

"I know that, Bella. Why do you sound so nervous? Is something wrong?"

"We love each other…like a couple, I mean. Rosalie and I are together now."

"How are you together?"

"Dad for fucks sake, how many kinds of together are there? Rose and I are lovers now."

"Lovers? You're a lesbian now? Look if this is about asshole and how he pissed you off—"

"It has nothing to do with Tyler." Bella told her father. "Rose has always been close to me. Now, we're even closer. You are not mad at me for that. Are you?"

"I've never said a word while you were with that loser asshole for over six years." He stated. "With who you are is your decision to make, not mine."

Bella stood up from her chair and wrapped her arms around Charlie. "Thank you, Dad."

"No need to thank me for anything. I love Rosalie like she's my second daughter. But her mother…that woman is a pain in the ass. Have you told her about you two yet?"

"Rose doesn't want to tell her. Lucy's so agitated about the cancelled wedding. We thought it would be better to give her a break first before we spill the news."

"You are probably right about that." Charlie stated. "Do you want to tell Resha?"

"As soon as I figure out how to explain things to her," Bella said, nodding her head. "Oh Dad, I'm so happy with Rose. I never thought love could be so very…easy."

"That's good to hear. I'm glad you are happy." Charlie planted a kiss on Bella's cheek. "There is only one thing I don't understand."

"What, Dad?" Bella asked, pushing the sleeves of her uniform a bit higher on her arms.

"I can't figure out which of you is the man and which is the woman."


	27. Chapter 27

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Today's update is dedicated to my readers** Alexis99** & **perses7x**

_****26****_

Bella hissed through her teeth when a bit of the too hot lasagna painfully burned her tongue. "Ouch. Sweetie, you need to be careful." She told her little daughter. "It's very hot."

"Yes, Mommy." The girl mumbled, taking a sip from the glass of milk in front of her. Then she cleared her throat and turned to her grandfather.

"Grandpa, can I get a kitten for my birthday? Mom says yes, if you allow it."

Charlie coughed. He wasn't exactly fond of pets. Animals never seemed to like him much and he had gotten bitten by dogs more than once.

Resha's brown eyes became bigger in her face. "Please, Grandpa. I really need a cat. My friend Senna has a cat too."

Bella dipped her fork into the lasagna on her plate again. "I think your grandfather doesn't like the thought." So, do I, she added in her head.

"No! Grandpa, you can't say no. I will be so sad on my birthday when I can't get a kitten."

Charlie nodded his head. He circled his fingertip over the edge of his glass. How could he say no to her if she was asking him like that? "Sure, you'll get your kitten."

"DAD!" Bella screeched. She had been a hundred percent sure he was going to tell Resha no. Now, her only chance to get out of the pet problem was to tell Resha, she herself was against an animal in the house. There was no way she was going to do that though.

"Is something wrong, Mommy?" Resha asked, spilling a bit of milk on the table when she lifted her glass to her mouth again. "Isn't it great that Grandpa is allowing me to get the cat?"

"Yes, sure, that's fantastic." Bella mumbled, giving her father a dirty look. He had never allowed her to have a pet when she was a child. Maybe he was starting to get soft with age. "Thursday afternoon, we can go down to the shelter and see if they have any little cats there."

"Animal shelter," Charlie mumbled, rubbing his fingers through his beard for a moment. "That's an excellent idea."

Resha jumped from her chair. "Can I get up? I'm not hungry."

Bella sighed. "You didn't eat anything."

"Grandpa gave me Oreo Cookies while you were cooking." The girl explained, gulping down the rest of her milk. Then she rushed upstairs. She needed to figure out what would be the best place for her cat to sleep. Would her mother allow her to let it sleep in her bed with her? No, probably not.

"Why are you allowing her to eat candy before dinner?" Bella snapped. "She needs vitamins, not more sugar."

"Relax. You need to stop being strict to her all the time. If you forbid kids everything they end up like the two idiots I had to arrest today."

"I don't think it works that way." Bella stated. "Jake and Seth just want to spend time together and their parents are working against it."

Charlie cleared his throat. "Maybe they have their reasons. Seth's mother says Jake has bad influence on the other boy."

"Because they are in love with each other?" she asked, picking up a bit of salad on her fork. "It's hard to be gay, when your parents are homophobic jerks."

"I don't think Mrs. Clearwater is a homophobic." Charlie stated. "That woman has a lot to deal with since her husband passed away last winter."

Bella took a sip from her glass, wondering if it would be okay to have a glass of wine during a week night. It would definitely help her to sleep better.

"Can I have a beer?" she finally asked her father. Charlie smirked and went to the refrigerator to pull out two cans. He opened both up and held one up to Bella.

"Cheers."

"Cheers." Bella whispered, taking a hesitant sip from the cold beer. The taste was bitter but not as unpleasant as she had imagined it to be. "Now, Seth and Jake are both going to ahm…volunteering at the retirement home?"

"Seth, yes, I've got other plans for Jake. They always need help at the animal shelter."

"Why can't you let them work together?" Bella asked, nipping on her beer again. "It's bad enough that Seth's mother sent him to another school to get him and Jake away from each other."

Charlie raised his left eyebrow. "How come you know about this?"

Bella could feel her cheeks beginning to get warm. She hoped that Charlie wouldn't notice it or at least think it was a result of the beer drinking. "Jake told me about that while you were busy calming down his father outside on the parking lot."

"Terrible man," Charlie stated. "But what Jake has told you is bullshit." He added. "Mrs. Clearwater told me that she agreed to send Seth to Forks High because the school down at the Rez doesn't offer many possibilities. She says her son is smart."

"Every mother says that about her children." Bella responded. She ate the rest of lasagna on her plate and wiped her mouth on a napkin. When she stood up to stack the dirty dishes in the sink, Charlie put his hand on her shoulder.

"I can do that later." He said.

Later? Bella thought. What he truly meant with this was that she could do the dishes in the morning. Silently, she rinsed the plates under the faucet. "Go and watch the Game. But don't curse too loud. I don't want Resha to hear that."

Charlie kissed Bella's hair and walked off to the living room. Beer and a flat screen, what more could a man ask for to be happy. For a moment his thoughts flickered to the curvy woman who had shown up at the station today to pick up her son. She was pretty. Not that he had any time for that sort of thing. He switched on the screen and leaned back in his chair. Soon every thought about Susan Clearwater was pushed aside again.

xxxx

Bella braided her still damp hair to keep it from getting tangled. She applied some melon scented lotion on her legs and arms before she pulled a long shirt over her head. Then she went to her room and snuggled underneath the thick blankets.

She reached for the phone on her nightstand and dialed Rosalie's number.

"Hi there, my Beautiful." Bella spoke into the phone as soon as Rosalie picked up. "I miss you."

"I miss you too." Rosalie whispered with sadness in her voice. "What are you doing right now?"

"Lying in my bed and missing you." Bella said. "It would be much nicer here when you were here with me."

Rosalie moaned softly. "Yes, that would be nice. I bet your feet are cold like ice though."

"How do you know?"

"You pressed them against my back half the night the last time we slept in one bed."

Bella giggled. "As my girlfriend you've automatically signed up for being my personal heating pad."

"I'll be whatever you want me to be." Rosalie responded. "Have you told Charlie about us yet?"

"I have. He took it pretty well."

"I knew he would. Charlie is cool."

Bella hummed in agreement. "There's one thing though that's awkward. He asked which of us the man is and which the woman is."

"Does he know we are both girls?"

"I think he does. Maybe he's just trying to wrap his head around the new situation. I mean, it's kind of difficult for all of us."

"Are you having doubts?" Rosalie asked. "I love you and you love me. I don't care, which of us the man is as long as I get to be with you."

Bella sighed and snuggled deeper into the blankets. "I wish you were here with me now."

"Me too," Rose mumbled. "Tell me what you are wearing."

"Just some shirt," Bella answered, tugging the blanket underneath her chin. "Why are you asking?"

"I want to picture how you look like right now. What color is the shirt?"

"Blue." Bella said. "It's a dark blue with a stupid three-headed lobster on it. I think Renee bought it for me when we were in Maine."

"I like the color blue on you." Rose stated. "It looks sexy with your skin, especially when you blush."

"I bet you could make me blush." Bella giggled. "If only you could be here with me right now."

Rosalie made another moan-like noise before she spoke up. "I would like to sit on your lap right now and straddle you. I like the way your skin smells like on your throat when I kiss you there."

"Yes," Bella whispered. "That would feel nice." She said, imagining how Rosalie's breasts would press temptingly against her face. Bella felt a wave of wetness beginning to pool between in her legs. "I wish we could really do this, Beautiful."

"We can talk about it." Rosalie said, her voice a bit raspy with arousal she was trying to hold at bay. "I found it very exciting when you told me how you play with yourself."

"You are a bad girl, Rosalie Lillian. It's only bad girls who ask their girlfriends how they masturbate."

"I just like the thought of you stroking yourself."

Bella cleared her throat and pushed the blanket off from her body. She let her hand glide underneath her shirt and fondled first her right, then the left breast.

"What are you doing?" Rosalie asked. "Tell me."

Bella groaned. "I'm touching myself, wishing it was your hand instead of mine."

"Fuck, Bella that's hot. Where's your hand now?"

Bella whimpered, trying to avoid moaning out loudly. "At my breast,"

"Is your nipple hard? They are so fucking beautiful when they get all hard and the tip is turning red."

Another suppressed moan left Bella's mouth when Rosalie told her to rub the sensitive peaks of her breasts between her fingers.

"I want to watch you while you pleasure yourself." Rosalie groaned into the receiver. "Will you let me watch the next time we'll make love?"

Bella's hand moved lower on her upper body, her fingertips circled over the cotton fabric of her underwear. "The next time we'll make love I want to make you come twice. I want your taste to be on my mouth for an entire week."

"I wish I could be kneeling between your legs now, my mouth kissing the soft skin of your thigh."

"Oh Rose," Bella moaned, pushing her hand inside her underwear. She loved the feeling of the smooth skin against her fingertips. First she let the tip of her middle finger circle over her clit for a moment. Then she gathered up a bit of her slick wetness and started rubbing herself at a fast pace. Her hips jerked upwards, as she began to thrust her fingers deep into her core. "Rose...oh fuck, Rose, I'm coming. You're going to make me come so hard."

A soft moan reached Bella's ears while she continued fingering herself hard and fast. She barely managed to press her face against the pillow to suffocate her groans when her climax made her entire body shudder.

For a few moments she couldn't speak or move. The after-waves of her release were making her dizzy and tired.

"Bella? Bella, are you still there, honey?" Rosalie asked when she heard nothing but rapid breathing through the phone for a while.

Taking a deep breath, Bella grabbed the phone she had dropped on the floor and picked it up again. "I'm here. God, that was incredible. It was crazy but incredibly hot."

"That means you enjoyed it, yes? You really need to let me watch you the next time."

"I'll think about it." Bella promised. Maybe I will let you watch me, if I get to watch you first."

Rosalie purred. "I don't play with my pussy."

"Maybe you should start doing it." Bella responded. "Anyway, I really enjoyed our conversation. That was fucking hot."


	28. Chapter 28

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for the review love you left me on the last chapter. It's always great to know that you like what I'm doing with my fic.

Today's update is dedicated to **LovaticFever** and **Jay aka Jordan**

_****27****_

Bella turned off the engine of her car in front of the small shop. She had parked behind a shiny new Volvo with a license plate from Illinois and a big - Bear Down, Chicago Bears – bumper sticker on its left side. Tourists loved to come to Port Angeles. It was a cute place to visit, especially in the summer time.

This tourist looked a bit, like he had lost his way. The guy inside the Volvo had a city map spread out in front of him and was eying it though sun-glassed eyes.

Without paying further notice to the copper-haired man, Bella stepped out of the car and pulled out the envelope with the pearl-earring. You can do this, Swan. She told herself. On you go with your first undercover mission.

From the outside the shop looked a bit run-down. The paint on the name sign – Volturi Jewelry – was chipped off around the edge. One of the windows was broken and had been fixed by putting some cardboard into it instead.

For a moment, Bella wondered if she had gotten to the correct address. She checked it again in her phone just to make sure. Yes, this was the right place. It was probably a good sign that Volturi Jewelry had a shop in Port Angeles. Here she would hopefully get some information that would help her with her investigations for the Hale murder.

"Good Morning, Miss." The shop assistant greeted her politely. His eyes were the brightest blue color she had ever seen. They glared at her with suspicion while he continued rambling down some small talk. "Isn't it a lovely day today? It's perfect to do some shopping. Don't you think?"

Bella nodded her head and responded. "Yes, I think it is." She walked around in the shop, pretending to be interested in the silver and gold jewelry that was displayed behind dusty vitrines.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" the man asked her, his voice having a bored tone in it. "Or did you just stop by to ask for directions?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you, Sir. Do you sell any pearls here as well?" Bella asked. "I'm looking for pearls, particularly fake pearls."

The man coughed. "Volturi Jewelry doesn't sell any fake pearls anymore. We only deal with certified Freshwater pearls."

"Too bad," Bella murmured. "I've been told you'd sell some very authentic replicas here."

He coughed again and pulled out a tissue to wipe it nervously over his forehead and nose. "Maybe someone has told you wrong."

Bella rolled her eyes. She pulled the envelope with the earring out and placed the little pearl-earring on the man's counter. "Isn't this here one of yours?"

The shop assistant got another coughing fit. Then he took the pearl-earring and held it up against the light. For a couple of moments he hummed and clicked his tongue while he examined the earring carefully with a magnifier.

"You're right, Miss..?"

"Dwyer," Bella told him, using her mother's new name instead of her real one. "My name is Marie Dwyer."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Dwyer." The man purred overly sweet. He lifted the earring up again and twisted the pearl around for a last time before he handed it back to Bella. "This is an old model. We haven't made those in a very long time."

"It belonged to a former friend." Bella told him. "We have lost contact over a stupid fight and I would like to get things right between us."

The shop assistant eyed Bella with an icy stare. "Volturi Jewelry takes pride in its discretion. I hope you understand that it's impossible to give out another clients address to you."

Bella sighed. "Of course, I understand. I understand completely. Have a good day."

"You too, Miss Dwyer." He told her, reaching for the phone standing next to him. As soon as the door closed behind Bella, he picked it up. His fingers were trembling while he dialed.

"Renata, is Mr. Volturi in?" he breathed into the phone when someone picked up. "I need to speak to him."

"Who is I?" the secretary asked. "Mr. Volturi is in an important business meeting right now."

"My name is Demitrios. I run the shop down in Port Angeles. Can I speak to Mr. Volturi?"

"Mr. Demitrios, like I told you. He's in a meeting."

The man snapped harshly. "Tell him it's about the fake pearls."

Renata snarled and put Demitrios into the waiting loop. The sound of classic piano music didn't help to calm his nerves.

"Aro Volturi."

"Mr. Volturi, this is Demitrios from the shop in Port Angeles. I've been instructed to instantly contact you, if someone would ask for fake pearls again."

Demitrios could hear his boss making a creepy hiss sound, close to a snake getting ready to attack its prey. "Was it that weirdo King again? God, I hate that man, even when he brings in some regular cash."

"No, it wasn't him. Actually, he hasn't been here in almost a year now."

"A new client then? New money, that's always good."

"Mr. Volturi, it wasn't a man. It was a woman, a young pretty thing with long brown hair."

"A woman? Well, that's something new. Did she order something?"

"No, she hasn't. Most don't order right away. They want to be sure not to be lead into a trap."

Mr. Volturi hissed again. "Disgusting pervs…anyway, keep in touch with me should that woman contact the shop again. Good bye."

"Good bye, Mr. Volturi." Mr. Demitrios murmured but his boss had already hung up again.

xxxx

Bella had never considered herself, a very adventurous person, when it came to sex. Yes, sure it was quite pleasant but she had no problem to go without it for several weeks. Over the years, she and her ex had fallen into a boring routine that hadn't truly satisfied either one of them.

Now, of course everything was different. Bella was deeply in love with Rosalie. She couldn't even put a name to all the things she was dying to try with her. The thought made Bella's skin prickle with excitement.

Quickly, she checked the area around her before she stepped inside the shop at the corner of the street. Never in her life would she have dared to enter a sex-store before. Forks didn't have one and back in Seattle, the opportunity to visit one hadn't presented itself.

You're just going to look, Bella reminded herself. You don't have to buy anything.

The first thing she saw after she had pushed a thick black plastic curtain out of the way behind the door was a gigantic shelf with porn movies.

Disgusting, Bella thought wrinkling her nose a bit. If sperm actually would taste this great, they would sell spunk-flavored bubblegum.

"Can I show anything to you?" someone asked Bella from behind. When she turned around, her mouth fell open. The woman was dressed in a black latex corset that pressed up her boobs almost to her chin. Her lips were tinted in a dark burgundy color. The glasses though, those white-framed, nerdy librarian glasses were exactly the same ones.

"Angela Weber?" Bella asked, barely able to believe her eyes. "Miss Weber is that you?"

The tall woman blushed furiously. "Oh my God, this is so embarrassing. I didn't know someone from Forks would come here to shop."

Angela cleared her throat. Her face went from a bright pink to a very pale color. "Please don't tell anyone. The school would fire me, if they knew."

"Why are you working in a sex-shop?"

"Well, I have tons of student loans to pay back. My parents can't support me and so a second job was inevitable. I've worked in adult shops before. It's good money and I don't mind looking at plastic dildos on a few afternoons a week."

Bella nodded her head. "Your secret is safe with me. There's no need to worry."

"Oh thank you! Thank you, Deputy Swan. I'd be screwed if someone would find out."

"Please, call me Bella. I won't tell on you, if you promise to do the same for me in return."

Angela nodded her head eagerly. "Let me guess. This is your first visit to a sex shop, isn't it?"

Now it was Bella's time to blush. "I was just curious. My girlfriend and I…we haven't been together for long and I—"

"You thought that maybe you could find some inspiration here, didn't you? Let me show you a couple of things."

With the patience of a true angel Angela explained several toys to clueless Bella. There were mini vibrators, butterfly vibrators, G-spot vibrators and so on. Eventually, because she felt kind of obligated to buy something, Bella decided on something Angela had presented to her as a so called double dildo and some pink-colored vibe with the innocent name Bunny Vibe written on its box.

"You'll get twenty percent discount." Angela told Bella. "Isn't that great? Oh and here's some free testers for lube too, should you need any of it."

"Thank you." Bella murmured while she handed her credit card to Angela.

"You're welcome." Angela responded. "And let me know, if you ever feel like company, apart from your girlfriend. I still don't know anyone down in Forks and I miss some girl time."

Bella walked out of the shop, carrying the plain looking grey plastic bag in her left hand. She went back to her car, noticing that a Volvo had parked in so close behind her that she would have problems to get out of the parking space.

"Stupid shiny Volvo owner," Bella hissed, climbing into the driver's seat of her own car. She managed to get out of the parking lot without leaving a scratch on the tourist's car.

The Volvo though, like some kind of magnet followed Bella throughout the rest of her afternoon. It parked in front of her when she stopped at a pet shop and purchased a scratching post and a litter box for Resha's kitten.

It stood across the street when Bella treated herself to a strawberry-frosted donut and some ice-tea for a break. When she eventually made her way back home to Forks and had to stop for gas, the Volvo ended up behind her in the line.

This is getting weird, Bella thought, stepping out of her car to slice her card. The Volvo guy still had his sun-glasses on although it was already beginning to get dark now. His hair was pretty reddish-brown color but so messy as if it hadn't seen a brush or hairdresser in months. He climbed awkwardly slow out of his car and pretended to rub some invisible dirt from his windshield.

"Is there a problem?" Bella snapped at him. She hated creepy stalkers more than anything. They had discussed cases like this at the police academy. The best way to get off such a fucker was to show him, you weren't intimidated. "You've been following me around for two hours now."

He shrugged back and raised his hands in a defensive gesture. "I'm not following you, Miss."

"Yes, sure," Bella responded. "You just happen to show up everywhere I go."

"Miss, I think you're making things up. Are you a bit hysterical?"

Bella crossed her arms in front of her chest. "What I am is none of your shitty business. Just do me a favor and follow me home. I'd like to arrest your creepy ass myself."

"Arrest me?" he asked, pushing his sun-glasses up into his tangled hair. "You're a cop?" he smirked, one side of his mouth curling up a bit higher than the other.

Bella felt tempted to punch him into his grinning face. Maybe that would teach this moron a lesson.

He fumbled around in the pockets of his leather jacket. Then, he pulled out a golden badge and held it up to Bella. "FBI, my name is Agent Masen. I think you and I should have a nice long talk with each other."


	29. Chapter 29

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N]

Today's chapter is dedicated to **LethalPoison** for being the _**400**__**th**_ reviewer.

_****28****_

Mushroom Ravioli; she didn't even like mushrooms. Bella picked halfheartedly around in the food on her plate. It was ridiculous that Agent Masen had insisted to buy her dinner in a small Italian Restaurant. He had told her it would be better to talk there instead of doing it somewhere outside.

"Aren't you hungry?" he asked, pushing the sleeves of his shirt a bit higher. "That donut you had earlier wasn't exactly nutritious."

Bella wiped her mouth on a paper napkin. "It's kind of creepy that you followed me around all day."

His left eyebrow twitched. "It is called observation. Didn't they teach you about this at the police academy?"

She reached for the glass with diet coke and lifted it to her lips. "They taught me a lot of things there."

For a few moments Agent Masen was very still. His forehead wrinkled in concentration. "Why were you at Volturi Jewelry today?" he finally asked. "I've been observing that place for two weeks now and nobody ever came to it."

Bella hesitated. How much could she tell him? She wasn't one to trust strangers very easily. Agent Masen worked for the FBI though and in a way that somehow made him a role model for her. Should she tell him about her ambitions to work for the FBI herself? No, it would be better if she didn't. He might end up laughing about her.

Masen sighed. "This is very frustrating. You're so difficult to read."

"I could say the same about you." Bella stated. "Why don't you tell me why you've been observing the shop?"

He sighed. "That's complicated. We're assuming that the jewelry store is just a cover up for their real business."

Bella started nibbling her bottom lip nervously. How exciting! She needed to calm and act professionally. But how could she stay calm, when this was so much better than scanning files all day long?

"Are they selling drugs under the counter?"

"Worse," Masen mumbled, fisting his hands into his tousled hair. "Much worse,"

"They're terrorists?" Bella whispered, her voice cracking slightly. "Are you sure?"

He shook his head. Then he pushed the glass with his coke over to Bella. "Yours is already empty. You must be thirsty."

Bella lifted the glass to her mouth and took a big gulp. "What are they doing? Tax fraud?"

Agent Masen sighed. "I wish it would be something like that." He stated. "We are assuming they are dealing child pornography."

The glass with the coke slipped through Bella's fingers. A part of the brownish liquid ended up on her jeans while the rest soaked through the carpet underneath the table. Damn it!

"Are you alright?" Masen asked, handing his napkin to Bella. She jumped from her chair, trying to wipe off the stain.

"I'll be right back." She pressed out. "Usually I'm not that clumsy."

Bella went to the restrooms where she tried to clean her jeans as good as possible. Then she splashed some water into her face. Breathe, Swan, she told herself. You need to act like a professional. You need to push away feelings. This is not about how you view this kind of things as a mother.

For a full minute, Bella leaned her head against the cold tiles. She waited until the beating of her heart to returned to its normal rhythm and the tightness in her throat lessoned.

When she returned to the table, her face was forced into a fake smile. "I didn't splash coke on you too. Did I?"

"No, I'm fine, Deputy Swan…or may I call you Isabella? My name is Edward."

"Just Bella, please." She told him, shifting back and forth in her seat. "Edward is a pretty old-fashioned name, isn't it?"

"I was named after my father, just like he was named after my grandfather himself."

"I see." Bella mumbled. "Can you tell me why are you suspecting that the jewelry store sells…this…disgusting…stuff?"

"Our eyes and ears are everywhere. What were you doing there today?"

"I'm rolling up an old case and the shop was the only trace I had to follow."

He looked down at his watch. It was some expensive looking silver thing with a brown leather band. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"No, the jerk in the shop didn't give me the information I needed. He said something about confidentiality."

"Did you honestly think you could just walk inside a shop and they'd tell you everything you want to know?" he asked with a slightly amused tone in his voice.

Bella cringed. The truth was she hadn't been thinking at all. She had acted. She had followed her instincts. Maybe that was the wrong thing to do though.

"How would you have done it?" she asked Edward. "Should I get a search warrant?"

"Are you stupid? If they know the police are involved, those fuckers will be warned."

"Why can't you simply arrest them and get them questioned?"

He smirked. "I already see. There is a lot about police work that you need to learn, Isabella."

xxxx

Alice Brandon had spent the last three days in the only pair of flannel pajamas she owned. She had cried a lot. Eaten even more ice-cream and greasy take-out from the Korean restaurant around her corner, she had ordered with a tear-filled voice.

Her heart was broken. She felt tempted to drown her sorrows in alcohol but of course that wasn't possible because of the baby.

Little troublemaker, she thought, letting her hands move down her abdomen. Was there already a tiny bump? No, it was probably just a result of her unhealthy eating habits.

She forced herself to get up from the couch she had slept on. There was no way she was ever going to spend a night again on the mattress in her bedroom where J. had taken her innocence.

_Whore_

The crude word echoed in her head. Yes, they are right. If this would be about anyone else but you, you'd talk about that girl the same way.

Alice felt so terribly stupid and most of all she felt ashamed. She was a smart girl, damn it! How could she let herself fall for such an asshole like James? He had manipulated her as if she was a soulless puppet.

There wasn't any ice-cream left when she checked the refrigerator. After a much needed shower she would go out to do some grocery shopping.

It was already dark when she went outside, her damp hair hidden underneath a white cap. She didn't even bother with applying make-up. Who gave a crap about how she looked like?

Inside the supermarket, Alice placed boxes with frozen dinners and chips into her cart. Then she headed for the ice-cream. How much of this would she have to stuff down until everything inside her was numb?

"Wow, you really like ice-cream. Don't you?"

She turned around, her eyes narrowing with anger. "What the fuck are you doing here? Can't a woman do her shopping without running into some asshole?"

Emmett held up his hands. "Hey, I'm just here to get some beer."

"Then get your shitty beer and piss off!" Alice snapped, pushing the shopping cart forward. She could feel the tears beginning to make her eyes water again. Oh, why couldn't she just stop with the crying? It made her feel so pathetic and weak.

Somehow Alice managed to make it outside the shop again. She placed the paper bags on the ground and fumbled around in her pockets for a tissue.

"Are they too heavy for you?" Emmett's deep voice made her spin around. Crap, he was really tall. Well, maybe he only seemed that tall because she had put on some ballet flats today.

"Are you following me?"

"Why would I follow such a hysterical person like you?"

"Asshole! God, I hate your family. You are a bunch of fucked up freaks."

Emmett crossed his arms in front of his chest. When a woman was all agitated like this, it was best to just let her rant until she was done. He lifted up Alice's groceries and carried them to her car for her, while she continued throwing insults at him.

"I hate your brother. He kisses like a slimy frog."

"Maybe that's because he doesn't like kissing girls." Emmett told her, laughing.

Alice wiped her running nose at the back of her hand. "A kiss is a kiss. J. was such an awesome kisser."

He rolled his eyes at that comment. "I wonder if his wife thinks he's a good kisser too."

With shaking hands, Alice managed to open the trunk of her car. "He promised me, he'd leave her for me."

"And you believed him?" Emmett asked. "Why? You don't seem that stupid."

"I love him! I mean. I did love him." Alice responded. "But he turned out to be a jerk. Now, I'm screwed."

"Well, maybe you'll learn something out of it." Emmett stated, placing the second paper bag into the trunk. "Only stupid people make the same mistake twice."

Alice cleared her throat. The anger inside her was much better now. Maybe, she was just exhausted from the crying. "Thanks for carrying my stuff. You didn't need to do that."

"I feel like I owe you because Jazz has been such an ass to you. Rosie has offered to fix your car for free too. But you already told me that you don't want that."

"I don't get why you and your sister would feel obligated to do anything for me." Alice told him, opening the driver's door.

"Let me guess. You're an only child. Am I right?"

"You are right. My mother died when I was a baby. That's why I don't have any siblings."

Emmett nodded his head. "Well, that's why you don't understand. Older siblings always feel responsible for the younger ones."

"I wish I had brothers or sisters to do that for me," Alice mumbled, pushing the key into the ignition. The engine didn't react. Crap, was the stupid car broken now? She tried to start the engine again for a couple of times but it didn't work. Eventually, she had to say yes to Emmett's gracious offer to drive her home again.

He helped her to carry the bags upstairs to her apartment. "Why don't you live on Campus?"

"My father didn't want that. He said they only throw wild parties and get drunk all the time."

Alice placed her groceries on the kitchen counter. She noticed that the sink was filled with dirty dishes. Crap, what would Emmett think of her now? Zafrina had taught her it was important to keep the kitchen spotless.

"A beer here and there won't do any damage." Emmett stated, opening a bottle. He pulled out a second one from the six-pack he had carried on his unharmed shoulder. With a grin on his face, he shoved it over to Alice "Beer is better for nerves than ice-cream."

"I can't drink." She murmured, putting away the ice-cream and her frozen meals.

"Well, it's easy. Lift the bottle to your mouth and suck. It's a bit like giving a blow-job."

"How can you say blow-job in the presence of a lady?"

"You're not a lady, Alice."

She reached out her hand to slap him but he quickly blocked her attempt by turning to the side. "Ladies don't fuck their professors? Is that what you want to say with that?"

Emmett took a gulp from his beer and sighed. "No, it's because you say what you think. Ladies don't do that."

"You mean that I should lie more?"

He leaned forward and pushed the white cap from Alice's head. The black curls under it looked like the perfect just-fucked look. The thought made Emmett's insides tighten up. "You should keep on being exactly how you are." He whispered, swallowing dry.

"I'm a slut. I don't think anyone should be like that."

"You're not a slut. Trust me I had my share of those and you are nothing like them at all."

The edges of Alice's mouth curled into an almost smile. "Thank you. Do you want some meat loaf and mashed potatoes to go with your beer? My Dad likes eating that."

"Frozen meals taste like shit." Emmett stated. "Why don't we head out for some decent food?"


	30. Chapter 30

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Today's update is dedicated to **Coeur d'amertume** and **tlc125**

_****29****_

"Your battery is fucked up." Rosalie explained, raising her head up again to look at Alice. "That means you're going to need a new one."

Alice sighed. This was just what she needed right now. Bad luck seemed to get pulled towards her at the moment.

"Can't you just fix the old one? Maybe it's not that bad with it." Emmett suggested, leaning over to his sister to take a look at the engine himself.

"Since when, are you an expert for cars?" Rose snapped, insulted that someone dared to question her skills. "If I say it's fucked up, that means it's fucked up."

She turned to Alice, her lips forming into a smile. "I can do that together with your little damage on the fender."

"Will that be expensive?" Alice asked, trying to remember how much she had used her credit card this month. She wasn't good at keeping her money together. Her father wasn't going to be pleased to find out, she had damaged the car.

"I can give you a calculation later, when our computer system is working again. Some idiot…," she glared over to Paul who was pretending to polish a car. "Some idiot thought it would be a great idea to download porn on our server."

"Porn?" Alice asked, fumbling around in her handbag. Maybe if she put half of the costs on her emergency Visa card, it would be easier to balance the costs for the repair.

"Porn is when people have sex in front of a camera." Emmett told her, smirking sheepishly.

"I know what porn is, you chauvinistic asshole." Alice said. "I'm just surprised someone would watch that at work."

Rosalie wiped her hands on a towel. "You are right. It's not allowed and Uley was pretty pissed at it for Paul. Jeez, I hope that moron gets fired."

Alice nodded her head. "Well, I need to leave now. I have an appointment that I can't miss."

"Do you want me to take you?" Emmett asked her, trying to keep his eyes on Alice's face and not her legs. How could someone so tiny have such long legs? He wanted to run his tongue up their insides and—

"I'll take the bus." Alice stated. "That's like a big car that is owned by the public transportation of this town."

Emmett laughed. "Have fun, dwarf."

"Wow, what a creative nickname." Alice mumbled. "Good bye, Rose. I'll call you later to arrange how we're getting my baby here fixed." She said, gently caressing the side of her car. Then she walked off, letting her high heels click with every step she made.

"Have fun, dwarf?" Rosalie mocked her brother. "What kind of crap was that supposed to be?"

"I was just trying to be funny." Emmett said.

"That was not funny, just stupid." Rosalie stated, closing the hood of Alice's car again. "What is going on between you two anyway?"

"Nothing." Emmett said, crossing his arms behind his back to stretch them. "I'm just trying to make up to her that Jazz has treated her like crap. I mean she could press charges against him, you know?"

"You, taking her out for dinner that's a bit more than just making up for Jazz's asshole behavior."

Emmett shook his head no. "She's not my type, you know. She is too short for me. Plus, I like blondes with big tits."

"That's bullshit." Rosalie laughed. "You like petite girls." After a moment she added. "Crap, you _like_ her."

"I don't like her. She's annoying."

"You like her! That's kind of cute."

"Shut the fuck up." Emmett hissed. "It's not like you are one to give advice for relationships. Didn't you just cancel a wedding?"

Rosalie threw the towel towards Emmett. "You're a jerk. Anyway, it's time for my lunch break now. Are you taking me?"

A couple of minutes later when Rosalie was sitting across her brother in a small diner, she tried to get more information out of him. "So, are you trying to hook up with Alice?"

"She was with Jasper. It would be creepy."

"They weren't actually together, you know?" Rose said, taking her grilled cheese sandwich between her fingers. Could there be anything more delicious than creamy melted cheese.

"Thank you, Miss Smartass. I know that."

Rosalie took a bite from the sandwich and chewed it slowly. She nipped on her drink before she spoke up again. "There's something I need to tell you. It's about me and Bella."

Emmett leaned back in his chair. "What about you and Swan?"

"We're lovers now."

"Like lesbos?"

"No, like women who love women. You're okay with it aren't you? You are the first person, I'm telling about it."

"Are you and Swan doing it?"

"That's none of your business." Rose stated, nibbling on her sandwich. "I'm very happy with her though.

Emmett reached for the second half of Rosalie's sandwich. "Well, if you're happy. Who am I to stand in your way?"

xxxx

Back home in her apartment, Rosalie stepped underneath the shower to wash off the scent of engine oil. She washed her hair and applied some conditioner to it before she stepped out again. Then she sat down on the closed toilet lid and started to comb through the tangles in her blonde curls.

She could hear the phone ringing in the living room. Quickly, she wrapped a second towel around her shoulder and rushed to take the call.

"Hey, Bella," She breathed into the receiver. "I wanted to call you too."

"You sound short of breathe. Is everything alright?"

"I was in the bathroom, showering."

Bella made a giggling noise. "We need to shower together again. That was very…uhm…hot."

"It was." Rosalie sighed, sitting down at the edge of her couch. "Now, tell me how your day has been."

"Slow, my day was slow. But yesterday I went to Port Angeles to do some shopping."

"Did you buy anything good?" Rose asked, putting the phone on loudspeaker so that she could continue detangling her hair. "We could have gone shopping together on Saturday if you wanted that."

"I want to spend all Saturday in bed with you.'" Bella said. "Charlie is taking the little princess to a fishing trip. I think that's his way of giving us some privacy."

"We need to find a way to thank him. Talking about Resha. How's she doing? You haven't told her about us yet, have you?"

Bella sighed deeply into the phone. "No, I haven't done that yet. To be honest, I don't really know how."

"I understand. Do you know what you want to get her for her birthday?"

"I'm getting her the equipment stuff for her kitten."

"You're allowing her to have a cat? That's so cute!"

"You sound like Resha. She's so excited that we're going to the animal shelter tomorrow, so that she can choose one of the kittens there."

"I like baby cats. They are adorable."

"You're adorable too. Tell me what you're wearing."

"Not much." Rosalie giggled. "I have a towel on. It's grey."

"You have the ugliest towels anyone could own." Bella stated. "But I like the thought of you being naked. Are you in your bedroom?"

"No, I'm in the living room. And just for your information, Swan. My towels aren't ugly. Grey is a good color for towels."

"Grey reminds me of dirt. We are definitely getting new towels when we move together."

"Your wish is my command. Now, tell me what did you buy in Port Angeles, clothes?"

"Toys."

"For Resha?"

"No, more like for us." Bella said. "I was in a sex store."

"For real? What did you buy there?"

"Some vibrator thing and a…it's called a double dildo."

Rosalie made a mental note to look up the double dildo thing on the internet. She crossed one leg over the other and cleared her throat. "Do you think we need stuff like that?"

"No, we don't." Bella quickly told her. "If you don't like us using them, we don't have to."

"I wish you could be here with me now. I miss you so much."

"I miss you more, my Beautiful."

"I'm not that beautiful. You can stop calling me that all the time." Rosalie whispered.

Bella hummed. "You're the most beautiful person I could imagine. Everyone wants you but nobody gets to have you, because you're all mine now."

"You're a little bit possessive, aren't you?"

"I'm not." Bella protested. "I just like the thought that I'm the only one who gets to touch you."

Rosalie pressed her thighs together, hoping it would help to lower the tension that throbbed between her legs. "I wish you could touch me now." She moaned into the phone. "God, I get so horny thinking about you."

"Oh Beautiful, I wish I was with you now. My hands would push this ugly towel down. Then I would fondle your perfect breasts until your nipple are swollen and red."

Rosalie groaned. She shifted around on the couch, trying to resist the urge to touch herself. She couldn't do this. Could she? The few times she had attempted to masturbate, she had given up on it quickly. It had been awkward. She had felt like she was doing something wrong and forbidden.

"Rose, darling, are you still there?"

"Yes, yes, I am. It's just…fuck…you're turning me on so much when you talk to me like that."

"Touch yourself, Rose. I want you to put your hands on your breasts and pretend they're mine."

Hesitantly, Rosalie fumbled the towel open and cupped the soft flesh of her breasts in her hands. She moaned when she felt her nipples brushing lightly against her palms.

"God, Bella. I need you."

"Soon, my Beautiful, very soon." Bella groaned softly into the receiver. "I can't wait to lick those pretty pink nipples again."

Rosalie rolled the tip of her forefinger over her left nipple. Then she lifted the finger to her mouth and wet it. When she lowered it to her right nipple and circled it around, she felt pleasurable sensations running through her body. Maybe this touching yourself thing wasn't so bad after all.

"If I were with you now," Bella purred into the phone. "If I were with you now, my lips would kiss their way down your stomach."

Rosalie let her right hand move lower, caressing the soft skin underneath her navel that never, not with a zillion sit-ups and other exercises would turn completely flat. She sighed when her fingertips reached lower, and lower finally were touching her moist sex.

"Where's your hand, Beautiful?"

"My secret." Rosalie moaned. "But I wish your mouth would be in their place now. I love it when you go down on me."

"You're a very naughty girl, Rose. If I was with you, I would probably be kneeling between your thighs now, dipping my tongue into your wetness."

"Fuck, Bella!" Rose called out, while she continued to rub her clit until her legs began to tremble. She whimpered and moaned while the release washed over her, making her feel alive in an overwhelming way.

"Goodnight, my Beautiful. I hope this was most satisfying for you. It sounded like it."

Rosalie tried to get her breathing under control. "Was I too loud?"

"You were perfect." Bella told her girlfriend. "I love you. Look, I have to go now. Charlie has put me on nightshift again."

"Be careful, okay? I love you too."

Bella disconnected the call and Rosalie stood up from the couch again. She was just about to wrap the towel around herself again, when the phone started ringing again.

"I love you." She purred cheerfully. "I love you so much."

"That is nice to know that you love your old mother." Lucy's voice cracked in Rosalie's ear. "I've been trying to call your place for half an hour now."

Rosalie's mood that had been excellent until now, suddenly turned into a bad one. "I was on the phone with Bella."

Lucy clicked her tongue. "Bella is not a very good role model for you, you know."

"What the hell is wrong with Bella now? She's my friend and I like her." I love her, she added in her head.

"She had that kid right after school and I haven't seen a ring on her finger so far."

"Mother, welcome to the twenty-first century where single mothers are something completely normal."

"Why are you so rude to me? I only have your best interests in mind. Don't tell me about single mothers. I've raised three kids on my own. Do you have any idea how difficult that was?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes. She was tired of Lucy complaining again and again about how hard life had been for her after her husband's death.

"I'm sorry, Mom." Rose mumbled eventually. "Is there a reason why you called?"

"Can't a mother just call her daughter to check if she's alright? You must be heart-broken after this terrible fiasco with Carlisle."

"Mom, I'm okay."

"No, you're not." Lucy stated. "Look, I may be old but I'm not stupid. I found out about the reason, why you called off the wedding."


	31. Chapter 31

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Thank you all for taking your time to read my little fic here. It's most likely going to be a long one, but I don't know about that yet. Anyway, I can't even thank you enough for all the support my readers are showing me. Without you, I could never do what I love to do. Big hugs to all of you!

This chapter here is dedicated to **LoveSKINS94** and **shunreibell**

_****30****_

Dr. Carlisle Cullen had thrown himself into work in an attempt to avoid thoughts about his called-off wedding. No, he wasn't heartbroken or anything close to it. But there was a feeling of melancholy, a feeling like he had messed up another time that made him toss around in his bed at night. The last couple of days he had spent mainly in the hospital, doing paperwork or online consultations when he wasn't in surgery.

He was just about to look through a medical article about metal implants when the phone on his desk started beeping.

"Dr. Cullen," the nurse prattled as soon as he picked up. "I thought you'd like to know that we have one of you nieces down here in the E.R."

"I'll be right there." Carlisle stated, grabbing his lab coat to put it on quickly. He run his fingers through his hair and headed for the elevators.

He bet it was Jane who had gotten herself hurt again. The girl was a feisty little thing. Jane was the kind of child that would put her hand on a hot stove, even when you warned her about it. Still, Carlisle hoped it wouldn't be something too bad with her.

When he reached the E.R. though, he noticed that Jane wasn't anywhere to be found. The nurse, it was a new one, he hadn't seen there before, handed him a chart.

"She's in room two. Poor thing is crying for her mother."

Crying for her mother? That didn't sound like Jane at all. Carlisle pushed the thick curtains away and stepped into the examination room, with the big red 2 on it.

The little black girl, sitting on the bed was sobbing. Crying children weren't something Carlisle was good at handling. Maybe this was the main reason why he hadn't chosen to specify in Pediatrics.

"Where's my Momma?" the girl cried, cradling her arm against her chest. They had wrapped a thick layer of cooling pads around it. Carlisle flipped the chart open.

Senna Cullen? Crap, this was Esme's girl. The girl, who could have been his daughter, if things had turned out differently. If he hadn't messed up so unforgivingly…

"Please," Senna sobbed. "My arm hurts. I want my Momma."

Carlisle put the chart aside. "I'm sure she's going to be here soon. Can I look at your arm?"

"No! You're a stranger." she protested. "Can't you call my Momma to come and pick me up?"

He reached for the medication on the nightstand. "How old are you Senna?"

She held up her unharmed arm, shoving him five fingers. "I'm five. Are you a doctor?"

"Yes, I am. Do you want me to make your arm better?"

She didn't answer him. Maybe she was just too exhausted from the crying. But when he held the little plastic cup with the painkiller to her mouth, she protested again.

"Momma says I can't eat and drink stuff from strangers."

"I think, she would be okay with it, if the stranger happens to be a doctor." Carlisle mumbled, placing his fingers gently on Senna's chin. She slurped on the sugary liquid. Moments later her eyes turned glassy.

"Good girl," he praised. "Now, let us look at your arm. Shall we?"

Senna nodded. Her stomach felt funny somehow and she was suddenly so tired.

Carlisle carefully flexed the tiny fingers. There was some swelling around the wrist. But at least it didn't look like anything was broken. He still would order some x-rays to make sure.

"Senna!" Carlisle's ex-wife pushed him out of the way and wrapped her arms around the girl. "Are you okay, sweetie? Momma is sorry she took so long to come here."

"I hurt my arm when I fell from the slide." Senna explained. "Can I sleep now? I'm so tired."

Esme kissed Senna's forehead. It only took about a minute more until the girl passed out.

"Her arm is not broken, is it?"

Carlisle cleared his throat. "I don't think so. We need to do some x-rays first to make sure."

Esme caressed her daughter's head. "They should have brought her to the clinic where I work. My poor baby, I bet she was scared."

Carlisle rolled the portable x-ray apparatus over to the bed. It felt awkward for him to be near Esme. There was so much he wanted to tell her and even more that he couldn't tell her. He looked her over, trying to make it as quick as possible.

"Don't look at me." Esme snapped. "This is how women look like when we're forty and have been on a twelve-hour-shift."

"I wasn't looking." Carlisle stuttered. "Can you hold her arm up on the machine, so that we can take the x-rays?"

Esme crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I want another doctor."

"Do you doubt my skills?"

"No, I'm not. I'd just prefer having another doctor treat Senna. I don't wish having to talk to you."

Carlisle felt like an entire bucket of cold ice had just been poured over his head. She still hated him. Esme was still mad at him for what he had done to Felix. Never in a thousand years, would she be able to forgive him. He probably didn't deserve it.

"Fine, I page pediatrics. They'll send someone down. It might take a while though."

"Is that why they sent you to treat her?"

Now it was Carlisle's time to snap at his ex-wife. "They thought she was my niece, because apparently someone who hates me still hasn't found the time to change her name back to Platt!"

Esme resisted the urge to slap Carlisle. There was a very specific reason why she hadn't changed her name back. She didn't want people to find out she was related to a bank robber.

"You still tend to raise your voice when you get agitated." She said, making her voice as cold as possible. "Maybe your new wife will like to handle your bad temper."

Carlisle clasped his hands together. Why the hell had Marcus told her about the wedding? He didn't want her to know.

The x-ray machine rattled. Now they would only have to wait for a couple of minutes.

"I'm sorry." Esme mumbled after a short pause of awkward silence between them. "What you do is none of my business anymore."

She sat down at the edge of Senna's bed. "She's like stoned. Maybe you've given her too much painkiller?"

"Sleeping for a while, won't do any harm to the girl."

Esme noticed the dark circles under Carlisle's blue eyes. "Maybe you should get some sleep too. I assume it must be difficult when you're sharing a bed with a hot young thing."

The jealousy in Esme's voice was unmistakable. Carlisle loved that she was jealous. Being jealous was way better than hating on him constantly.

"Rose broke off with me." He told Esme. "Maybe it's better that way. Both of us weren't really into this marriage."

Esme sighed. She stood up from the bed and pulled the blanket over Senna's legs. "Why would you ask her to marry you if you aren't sure?"

Carlisle stared down at his hands. What was he supposed to tell her?

"It's been five years. I am supposed to move on."

"And you had to move on with someone almost half your age? Why do men do stuff like that?"

Carlisle's voice cracked when he spoke up again. "Maybe, I'd just like to have a second chance. Everyone deserves that. Don't you think?"

Little Senna blinked. "Momma, where are we?"

"We're at the hospital, sweetie. Go back to sleep."

She kissed the girl on her cheek and turned to Carlisle. "Are the x-rays done?"

He nodded his head. Then he held the first picture up against the light. "Good, it doesn't look like anything's broken. She should be good with a brace."

"That's great. I'll make sure, she wears it."

She watched him carefully while he adjusted the brace around her little daughter's arm. If things only had turned out differently, she thought, trying to swallow back the sad thoughts.

When she followed Carlisle out of the E.R. a few minutes later, she had managed to calm her feelings enough to even smile again. She balanced Senna on her hip and spoke softly to her whenever the girl opened her eyes. How much painkiller had Carlisle given her? She shouldn't be passed out like this from it.

"Keep your hands from my daughter's fiancé." A shrill voice hissed at her from behind.

Carlisle turned around and sighed. What the hell was Lucy doing here? He wasn't in the mood to deal with this annoying woman now.

"Excuse me, Ma'am." Esme said coldly. "I don't think he's engaged any longer."

"Yes, I know!" Lucy snapped. "And it's your fault, Mrs…whatever your name is. Don't you think I don't know that you're trying to get him back. But Carlisle belongs to my Rose now!"

"Mom, stop this." Rosalie called out, rushing towards her mother. "You're embarrassing both of us."

"I'm just fighting for your happiness, darling."

"You know shit about what makes me happy." Rosalie stated. "Carlisle, I'm sorry about this. She insisted we come here to talk to you."

Carlisle raised his hands. "It's okay. I know, it's not your fault that she's so hysterical."

"I am not hysterical. You don't know how it's like to have kids!"

"Momma, why is that woman yelling?" Senna asked, raising her head from Esme's shoulder. "I don't like when people yell."

"You're Momma's smart girl, aren't you? Let's go home now. Dr. Cullen here is busy with his…extended family."

She turned around and walked out, noticing after a couple of steps that someone was following her.

"You forgot her doll." Rosalie said. "I'm sure she'd miss it."

"Thank you." Senna murmured. "Can I come and help you fix cars when my arm is better?"

Rosalie nodded her head. "If your mother allows it," She held the door of the backseat open while Esme carefully adjusted the seatbelt around her daughter.

"So, you're the woman my husband wanted to marry?" Esme asked Rose after closing the door.

"We're not getting married. Carlisle is great, but he's just not right for me."

"Your mother doesn't seem to think like that. She seems more upset about things than you are."

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "I don't know why I can never please her. I mean, if I had gone through with the wedding and divorced Carlisle later on. Wouldn't that have been much worse?"

"Probably, it would. Carlisle took it pretty bad when I left him."

Rose hesitated. She knew she was about to cross a line. It was wrong to interfere in other people's love life.

"You left him because he helped bringing your brother into jail. Right?"

"Wrong. I left him, because he stabbed me in the back. Felix is all the family I have left. You don't send family to jail, no matter what they might have done."

Rosalie nodded in agreement. For a moment she wondered how she would react if Bella would arrest either Emmett or Jasper. No, she wouldn't stop loving her because of that. When you really love someone, you can't just stop doing it.

"Maybe you should consider to forgive him." She suggested. "I think, he still has feelings for you deep inside."

"It is weird, that you of all people are saying that to me." Her mouth twitched nervously. "I love him, but I can't forgive him for what he has done to my brother."

She opened the driver's door and sat down. "You're a wonderful girl, Rose. Don't let your mother tell you differently."

"Thank you." Rosalie mumbled, swallowing down a lump in her throat.

"You're welcome. Oh and as for me and Carlisle getting back together. I think it's too late for that."

"Why?" Rose asked, leaning over into the opened window. "I swear that I and Carlisle are over. We're as over as it can be."

Esme nodded. "I get that. But he's not the only one who is trying to move on." She turned the key around in the ignition. "I recently met someone. Royce is a wonderful man, a bit shy perhaps but very charming."

The blood in Rosalie's body dropped to her feet. "Royce? As in Royce King?"

"Exactly the very same. Look, I have to go now. Senna is better off in bed for the next hours."

Your daughter is better off as far away from that pervert as possible, Rose thought. She didn't say anything though. All those dark thoughts inside her would stay hidden in a deep corner of her mind. There she could handle them like she always had.


	32. Chapter 32

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] I'm grateful for all your support. It means a lot to me to know, that you are by my side. Thanks for taking the time to read my fic here.

Today's chapter is dedicated to **Moorey** and **DawnLeon**

_****31****_

Resha tightened her hold around Bella's hand. The loud barking got even louder the closer they came to the gate of the animal shelter.

"Hey, you're not scared. Are you?" Bella asked, kneeling down next to her daughter. "The dogs are all in a kennel."

"But they sound like they're angry."

"Don't be a little goose. If you are scared to go inside, we can't get your kitten."

The girl nodded her head. She pressed herself as close to her mother as possible when they entered through the gate. Next to the gate, gnashing its teeth at them was a huge Rottweiler.

"Mommy!" Resha squeaked. "Is the dog evil?"

"No, he's not." Someone said from behind them. "Jared just has a big mouth."

Bella coughed. "You should still keep your distance from him, sweetie." Then, she turned to the black-haired boy standing next to them. "How's the new job going, Jake?"

He spit on the ground and made some puking noises. "Chief Swan in an asshole."

"Watch your language, young man." Bella snapped. "It's your own fault that you got punished."

Jake tossed a ball that was lying on the ground into the Rottweiler's kennel. "He could have let me work in the retirement home together with Seth. Everyone is trying to get us apart."

His eyes narrowed while he continued kicking some empty cans on the ground. "Seth and I belong together. Nothing can change that."

Bella nodded her head. Yes, she did feel bad for the two boys. Their parents didn't seem to be very understanding about their relationship.

"Look," she stated finally. "I think, if you want your parents to accept your love. You need to start acting like adults. No, sneaking out into the woods at night. No condom stealing. Well, I mean, no stealing anything."

"Mommy, what's a condom?"

Jake started to chuckle. Jeez, what an idiot, Bella thought. "Resha, why don't we let Jake show us where they have the cats?" she said, trying to avoid having to explain the condom question to her six-year-old.

When he had finally stopped laughing, Jake leaded them to a grey building at the other side of the animal shelter. "Do you want an older cat or a kitten?"

"A kitten!" Resha explained. "I'm getting a kitten for my birthday."

"That's nice." He mumbled, opening a glass-door. "Here, we go. Watch out. Some of them are moody."

"What does moody mean?" Resha asked, letting go of her mother's hand.

Bella stepped inside the room, almost losing her balance when something white and fluffy rubbed around her leg. "Moody means they don't like when you touch them." She stated, lowering her hand to rub her fingertips over the white cat's head.

Resha walked around in the room, letting her hand glide over the fur of every cat she could reach. How could she choose one if there were so many of them?

"I think I like this one here." she said, lifting a little tabby cat on her lap. The tiny being meowed and rubbed its head against Resha's stomach. "It looks like a tiger. Doesn't it, Mommy?"

Bella giggled, she moved over to Resha and held her hand up to caress the kitten's cat. Baby animals always made her feel warm and fuzzy around her heart. She had to hide her inner excitement. This was kind of embarrassing, right?

"I think it looks more like a baby tiger." Bella stated. "But it's very cute. Do you want to pick this one?"

Resha nodded happily. "Can we take Baby T. home with us today?"

Jake shook his head. "They need to get vaccinated first. But you can come back next week to pick him up."

"But a week is so long." Resha protested. "He's going to forget me. Won't you, Baby T.?"

She kissed the kitten and placed it down on the ground again and watched how it chased after one of his siblings.

"Bye, Baby T." Resha called after him, when her mother told her it was time to go home again. "I come back next week to bring you home."

Back in the car, she kept chatting on about her cat. "He's the smartest of them all. Did you see, how he climbed up that cat tree?"

Bella smiled. It was good to see that the girl was so happy now. Sometimes, it could be so very easy to make someone happy. Her cell started beeping and she quickly fumbled it out of her handbag to take the call.

"Hey, Rose. How's it going, Beautiful."

"Okay, I guess." Rosalie murmured. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow night. I miss you so much."

"I miss you too. But it's only one more day. What are you doing until then?"

"Working," Rose whispered. "Look, I wanted to ask if you know anyone from the vice squad here in Seattle?"

"Why?" Bella asked worriedly. "Did something happen?"

"No." Rosalie said. "It's nothing. I just…well, I just…thought it might come in helpful in case something would happen."

"Rose, are you sure that you are okay?" Bella asked, noticing the trembling in Rosalie's voice.

"Sure, sure…I'm fine." Rosalie stated. "I have to hang up now. Mom is here. Wish me luck for keeping my nerves with her."

xxxx

Rosalie had spent a very uneasy night. Every time, she had attempted to close her eyes, Royce's grinning face had popped up. She hated thinking about him. The thoughts always came with an unbearable feeling of nausea and self-disgust. She had showered twice, rubbing her skin hectically with a loofah until it was all red. Still, she didn't feel any cleaner afterwards.

"You look tired, honey." Lucy said when she kissed Rosalie's cheek. "Don't you have any concealer to cover this up?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I'm home. Nobody sees the shadows under my eyes."

"But what if someone decides to come over spontaneously? Haven't I told you to always look your best?"

Rose nodded, walking into the kitchen where she poured her mother a glass of water. "The scene you caused at the hospital yesterday was embarrassing."

Lucy frowned. Then she took the glass from Rosalie and sipped on the cold water. "I was just trying to help you."

Rosalie pulled a package of ice-cream out. Eating something sweet usually helped to calm her nerves. She grabbed a spoon and dipped it into the creamy ice-cream.

"Do you know how many calories per serving this stuff has?"

"I don't care, mother." Rosalie snapped. "And your behavior didn't help me anything."

She swallowed the first spoon full of ice-cream, barely tasting the sweetness on her tongue. Quickly she ate a second and a third one.

"You are going to get fat." Lucy warned her daughter. "Honey, look, if you want to win Carlisle back, you need to stay in shape."

Rosalie swallowed a forth mouthful of ice-cream, choking a bit on a piece of cookie crumble inside it. "I don't want to get back together with Carlisle. Get that into your head. God, damn it!"

"Rosalie Lillian. I don't know why you are acting like that. It's not my fault, you can't make a relationship last."

Rose growled. "What the fuck? Why can't you ever be on my side for once in my life? How did you come up with that crap, that Carlisle's ex-wife might be interested in him again?"

"I have my sources." Lucy stated, pushing the ice-cream away from Rosalie. She was just about to put the lid on it again, when Rosalie reached over the table.

"I'm still hungry. What do you mean, you have your sources?" she asked, licking a bit of melted ice-cream from the spoon in her hand.

"Well," Lucy murmured, taking a sip from her water again. "As you know I had to call everyone I had invited to tell them about the cancelled wedding."

She sighed deeply. "I've never been so ashamed in my whole life."

"Mom, stop it. You're always trying to make me feel guilty."

Lucy clicked her tongue. "I just want to make you aware, that your actions always have consequences for others as well."

She gulped down the rest of her water and continued. "Royce and I had a nice long talk. That's how I found out about Carlisle's ex-wife. I'm telling you, girl, don't trust that woman."

Rosalie dropped the spoon on the table. "I'm fucking done, having you tell me whom to trust or not to trust. Do you remember how I told you what Royce has…what...he…" she couldn't manage to bring out the words. Her stomach revolted. She jumped from her chair and just managed to make it over to the sink before the food she had just eaten a minute ago, made its way up.

"Christ, are you sick, girl?" Lucy asked, trying to hold Rosalie's hair together in her neck. "Just let it all out. Those were unnecessary calories anyway."

"Shut up, Mom!" Rosalie croaked, reaching for a Kleenex to wipe her mouth. "You should have believed me when I told you what that sicko has done to me. Why couldn't you believe me?"

Lucy made Rosalie sit down again. She rinsed a second Kleenex and wiped it gently over her daughter's mouth. "You were a child with a very vivid imagination."

"I didn't make this up." Rose protested. "Crap, why do you always make me feel like it's my fault. Do you think I asked for him to touch me?"

"Rose, calm down. This was a really long time ago. Why can't you try to forget? It would be better for everyone."

Rosalie crossed her arms in front of her chest. "It would be better if you'd leave now." She pressed out, before she headed upstairs again to take her third shower in the last twenty-four hours.

An hour later, with her hair still damp, hidden under a baseball cap and her skin feeling like it had been scrubbed raw, Rosalie parked her car in front of Royce King's house. It had been years, since she had been here. The garden in the backyard still looked the same with the big bushes and the apple tree with the rope-ladder.

She could remember climbing up on that one. What she also remembered was the constantly unlocked door that would lead inside Royce's cellar.

You can do this, Rose, the young woman tried to convince herself as she walked towards the wooden door. Just get over with it.

When she stepped inside, she tiptoed carefully around, trying to make sure that she was really alone in the house. She cringed when she saw the teddy bears lying on the mattress in the corner of the room. Fucking Pervert, she thought, swallowing back another wave of nausea.

Forget? How was she supposed to forget?

It didn't take long for her to find the pictures. He still kept them in the same place he used to. Rose remembered how he had enjoyed showing them to her, while he purred into her ear how she would look much lovelier than any of the girls in them.

Rosalie's hands were shaking, when she grabbed a couple of the pictures and headed outside again. Back in her car, she fumbled a little notepad and scrawled.

_Dear Mrs. Cullen,_

_I thought you should know what your new boyfriend really is into. Keep your daughter safe._

_A Friend_

Rose pushed the note into an envelope together with the disgusting pictures. Then she drove to the next mailbox and threw it inside. It had been easy for her to get Esme Cullen's address through the credit card company. At first Rosalie had considered calling her to warn her about Royce. But how could she do that? How could she warn Esme about what kind of sick fuck, her new boyfriend was, without telling her about herself in the consequence? Rose couldn't endure the thought.

She drove her car back home and tried to decide whether her irritated skin could handle a fourth shower. Sometimes, there just wasn't enough water in the world to make you feel clean again.


	33. Chapter 33

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for all your support my dear readers. I'm not feeling very well at the moment but writing helps me to cope with the things around me that make everything so complicated.

I've written a new slash one-shot. Feel free to check it out, should you be open-minded enough to read some boy slash. It's a future-take for All Of You. Eddie and Jake were so meant to be in this story. I needed to give them a voice somehow. The story is called _**Crayons & Cravings**_.

Anyway, let's see how things turn out for our girls, shall we? I know you want Rosalie to tell Bella about Royce but I think it's a big thing for her.

*The chapter below is dedicated to Leslie, because she believes in me.

_****32****_

Bella pulled Rosalie into a tight hug, holding her as close as possible. She pressed her face against the blonde's soft hair and inhaled its scent as deeply as possible.

"I'm so glad you are finally here. I missed you."

"I missed you more." Rosalie whispered looping her arm through Bella's as they walked inside. "I think I might have overseen a few speed signs on my way here."

Bella laughed. "Well, I think I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." She kissed Rosalie's cheek. "God, it's so good to have you here. That was the longest week of my life."

"Hi, Rose." Resha greeted her when they entered the kitchen. "Did you bring me a present?"

"She doesn't need to bring you a present every time, she comes here." Bella stated before she turned to the stove to stir around in the pot. Rosalie loved every food that was creamy and had pasta in it. She had also prepared some chocolate cake for dessert. Rose was a real sweet tooth when she wasn't on one of her stupid diets.

"Rose, did you really not bring a present for me?"

Rosalie held back a giggle when she saw the disappointed expression on the little girl's face. She fumbled around in her handbag and finally pulled out a pink lip-gloss.

"This is for you, sweetie. Now, make a fish face for me." Rosalie demanded, sucking her cheeks in. "Now, you can put it on."

"Isn't she a little young for make-up?" Bella asked, putting the plates on the table. "Resha, go and wash your hands before we eat."

When the girl walked off, Bella wrapped her arms around Rose and kissed her quickly on the lips. "I missed you."

"Me too, Beautiful." Bella whispered. "I can't wait to be alone with you tonight."

They pulled apart when they heard the front door opening again. "Grandpa, Rosie is here!" Bella's daughter called from upstairs, before she tried to slide down the stair rail.

Charlie put his gun away. Then he leaned down and placed a kiss on Rosalie's cheek. "Good to have you here, girl."

Rosalie squeezed his hand. She was so glad that Charlie was so cool with her and Bella being a couple now.

Bella filled the plates and sat down next to Rosalie. Underneath the table, she gave her girlfriend's hand a light tug.

"Rose, has my Mommy told you about my kitten yet? His name is Baby T. and he's so cute."

"You need to take good care of him." Rosalie said, dipping a noddle into the cheese sauce to swirl it around. "I like cats."

"Now, has your mother calmed down about the wedding?" Charlie asked, sipping on his beer.

Rosalie cringed. "I think she's pretty mad at me."

Bella wiped her mouth on a napkin and placed her hand on Rosalie's shoulder. "She'll get over it. This is about your happiness. Not hers."

Resha slurped on her ice-tea. "Rose, do you and Mommy want to come with us tomorrow? We're going fishing."

Bella and Rosalie exchanged a quick look. There was no way they were going to spend their precious time together out in the middle of nowhere. Despite, Bella hated those fishing trips more than anything when she was little.

Charlie coughed loudly. "I think your mother and Rose already have other plans. Am I right, girls?"

Rose nodded happily. A couple of hours later, after doing the dishes and watching an endless seeming Disney movie about Cinderella, it was finally late enough for them to head upstairs.

As soon as the door to Bella's bedroom closed behind them, Rosalie pushed the brunette to the bed.

"You have too much clothing on." She whispered, while she started unbuttoning Bella's blouse. "Aren't you warm?"

"Oh yes," Bella moaned softly. "It's really hot in here. Maybe we should take all of our clothes off."

Slowly, they stripped down to their underwear. "Black lace, huh? Fuck, you're so sexy. I can't resist you."

Bella unclasped Rosalie's bra and kissed the Blonde's neck. "Do you want me to give you a massage?"

Rosalie smiled. "How can I say no to such an offer?"

Minutes later when Bella tenderly rubbed the rose-scented oil over Rosalie back and down to her perfectly shaped legs, Rose finally started to relax fully.

Unfortunately it didn't last very long.

"Why did you ask me for the phone number of the vice squad?" Bella asked, letting her oily fingers glide down Rosalie's left thigh. "Did that asshole from your work try to make a move on you again?"

Rose jumped from the bed, covering herself with a blanket. "Why did you have to mention that? You ruined everything!"

With that she rushed off, locking herself into the bathroom where she spent an entire hour crying and showering. Why had she been so stupid to ask Bella about the vice squad? You could simply Google this kind of information for crying out loud.

When she eventually returned to Bella's room, Bella was next to her in a flash. "What is wrong with you? I felt tempted to break the bathroom lock."

"Nothing," Rosalie whispered her throat raw from the crying. "Everything is fine."

"Everything is not fine." Bella stated. She made Rosalie sit down on the bed again. Lightly she combed her fingertips through Rosalie's tangled curls. "Let me do your hair while you tell me what's bothering you."

"Nothing," Rose repeated. "Can we just pretend that I'm okay?"

"Rose, stop it. You are scaring me." Bella told her girlfriend. "If you are unhappy, I want to know the reason behind it. I love you."

Rosalie pressed her lips together, trying to take a deep breathe through her nose before she spoke up again. "I know. I love you too, Bella."

Gently, Bella pushed the damp hair over Rosalie's shoulder and kissed her neck. "You know that you can tell me anything?"

Rose nodded. I can't tell you about this, she thought. I can't tell you about Royce. What if she wouldn't believe her? Rosalie could feel her eyes beginning to fill with tears again.

"Can you just hold me?" she whispered. "Please?"

Bella sighed and wrapped her arms around Rosalie. "You're probably just stressed out because of your mother. She'll calm down about the cancelled wedding. I promise."

For a while Bella just held Rosalie in her arms and caressed the woman's face, wiping away a few traitorous tears that rolled down her pretty face.

Then she kissed Rose. She wanted to make her forget all the stress with Lucy. What an awful person was Rosalie's mother that she made her child feel that low?

"Let me take care of you, my Beautiful." Bella whispered. As lightly as possible she let her fingers move over Rosalie's jaw down to her shoulders. She lifted Rosalie's hand to her lips and kissed every fingertip.

"Just relax." Bella murmured, lowering her hands to the blonde's breasts. "God, your body is amazing. I want to worship it."

Rosalie leaned back against the soft pillows behind her. She tried to concentrate on Bella's caresses. Her mouth felt so warm and soft against her stomach. The touch of her hands was gentle. Nobody had ever been so tender to her before.

She moaned when Bella kneeled between her legs and parted her thighs. "I love going down on you. The way your pussy quivers against my tongue."

Playfully she licked on the woman's outer lips, spreading her open completely with two fingers. "I love the way you taste when you're wet."

She dipped the tip of her tongue between Rosalie's soft folds. Rosalie whimpered. It felt so good to have Bella pleasuring her like this. Bella's tongue was warm and soft and all kinds of perfect.

"I want to lick you too." She whispered. "I want to taste your pussy while you taste me at the same time."

Bella turned around. Slowly she lowered herself down on Rosalie's face. Again and again they buried their tongues into each other's dripping wet pussies, circling the other one's clit with fast licks. It didn't take long for them until a strong release built up from deep within them.

"You are wonderful." Rose murmured, cuddling against Bella's lap. "I'm so glad to have you."

"No, I'm glad to have you." Bella said, kissing Rosalie's forehead. "Have you made up your mind whether you want to move to Forks? I could come to Seattle to be with you, if you liked that better."

"I think, it could be nice living here." Rose stated, playing with a wisp of Bella's brown hair. "We could get our own place, right?"

"Of course, we could. I think the Newton's are selling the house next to the store."

"That's the ugliest house in Forks. I thought we could live in Emmett's place. He told me that he wants to move to Seattle when the summer is over."

Bella laughed. "Your brother's place is a pigsty. Why does he want to move Seattle?"

Rosalie grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around them. Yes, it was much nicer this way. "He says he might get a trainer job there. Let's face it. Emmett is not happy with teaching kids."

Bella nodded in agreement. She kissed the tip of Rosalie's nose. "I bought some earplugs."

"I'm sorry about the snoring. It's awful. I know."

Bella giggled and kissed Rosalie's mouth. "We all sacrifice for the people we love, one way or another."

During the night Rosalie managed to sleep for a couple of hours. Then the nightmares came and she woke up, covered in sweat. Next to her Bella was still fast asleep.

Rosalie caressed the woman's heart-shaped face with a fingertip. "I love you." She whispered, knowing that Bella wouldn't be able to hear her through the earplugs. Unable to go back to sleep herself, she pulled t-shirt over her head and stepped into a pair of sweats. Maybe she could distract herself by preparing a big breakfast.

"You're up early."

"Morning Charlie," Rose mumbled. "Do you want coffee?"

"Six in the morning is too early for Vitamin R, so coffee it is."

Rosalie maneuvered around in the kitchen, pulling out eggs and flour in order to make some pancakes.

"You and Bella are happy, right?" Charlie asked, adding two tablespoons of sugar into his cup.

Rose's mouth curled into a smile. "She's very good for me."

"Maybe you're good for each other, huh? It's been very long since I've seen her so happy like this."

"I love her." Rose said, nipping carefully on her own coffee. "But I've never been in a long-term relationship before."

Charlie nodded eagerly. Then he slurped on his coffee again. "Look, you're a girl. I love you like my own child. That's why I can't threaten to shoot you, should you make Bella unhappy. But please…just don't do it."

"I would never do anything to hurt Bella." Rosalie promised. "I even want to move back to Forks for her."

Bella's father stuffed a sandwich between his lips. "Do you want to move in here?"

Rosalie stood up from the chair. "We'd rather have our own place. Emmett wants to move back to Seattle when he gets the coaching job he wants."

"Good choice. The boy is really not made to be a High School teacher. When he got his shoulder injured, he took it pretty bad."

Rose filled her cup with coffee again. She knew that she needed lots of caffeine to make it through this day with her lack of sleep. "I remember how he yelled at everyone in the hospital. He even made them do his blood tests three times. Emmett is a choleric asshole when he's sick."

"Well, he was stoned from the medication. I guess, that's why he was so upset." Charlie stood up and placed his cup and plate into the sink. "Anyway, I'm going to wake Resha up now. Enjoy your day, you two. And whatever you do. Don't damage the flat screen. It's my date for tonight."


	34. Chapter 34

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] thank to my amazing readers. I feel blessed to know you by my side. Your support means everything to me.

Today's update is dedicated to **Vixenu** and **Jay aka Jordon**

_****33****_

Bella dipped her fingertips into the glass with honey and circled it over Rosalie's stomach. The Blonde sighed when Bella lowered her mouth and licked the gold-colored liquid off again.

"You are crazy, Swan." She whispered, caressing Bella's hair. "You are getting me all sticky with this stuff."

"But it tastes much better from your skin." Bella mumbled, dribbling a few droplets on her lover's chest. "This is fun."

She swirled her tongue over Rosalie's breast, flattering its tip teasingly slow against the sensitive tip.

"We should spend Saturday in Bed every weekend from now."

"Good plan." Rosalie moaned. "Fuck, I love the way you make me feel."

"How am I making you feel?" Bella whispered, sucking the hard nub in front of her between her lips. She heard Rosalie's soft moans. They encouraged her to suck even harder. Her teeth scraped on the nipple. Rosalie groaned.

Then they heard the noises downstairs. Crap, why were Charlie and Resha back so early?

"Dad?" Bella called. "Dad, are you home?"

She waited for a response but none came. Still there were some shattering noises coming from downstairs.

"Is that a burglar?" Rosalie asked, sitting up straight in the bed. "It's not a burglar, right?"

Bella stood up from the bed and pulled a shirt over her head. Then she kneeled down and fished for a box underneath the bed. "You'll stay here." She stated while she pulled out the silver-colored weapon.

"Jesus Christ. Why do you have a weapon here?"

"Charlie gave it to me as a present when I graduated from the police academy." Bella explained. "Now, you're going to stay here while I go and have a look at our visitor."

Rosalie wrapped her hand around Bella's wrist. "No, please stay here. Can't we just call the police?"

Bella suppressed a giggle. "I am the police, Beautiful. Now, get dressed and wait for me. I'll be back in a minute."

As quietly as she was capable of Bella tiptoed down the stairs. One had to be extremely stupid to break into the house of a police officer. There he was. She could see the tall figure in the kitchen. His head was hidden under a blue hoodie.

"Hands up and turn around! Slowly!"

He did what she commanded and a moment later, he burst out into laughter. "Don't shoot me, Swan. I'm just here for the flat screen."

"Emmett! Damn it! What are you doing here? Rose, come down! It's just your brother."

Emmett laughed again. "Put that gun away. It's making me nervous."

"Why are you here?" Bella repeated. "And why didn't you say anything when we called for Charlie?"

"I had my headphones in. Do you know where Charlie is? He and I were supposed to watch the Game here."

Bella dropped the weapon and cleared her throat. "He's out fishing with Resha."

Rosalie rushed down the stairs. "You're fucking stupid, Em." She scolded him, smacking him against his shoulder. "She almost shot you. You ruined our afternoon by showing up here."

"You dykes are too stressed. I didn't interrupt you doing something important. Did I?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

Rose punched him again. "Go home, Emmett. Bella and I want to be alone."

"But there's no food in my fridge. Can I eat those leftovers here? I'm starving."

Bella ended up warming the rest of the pasta from yesterday. She wrapped her arms around Rosalie's waist and played with the Blonde's hair while she waited for the food to warm up.

"So, you're really together now." Emmett stated. "Have you told Mom yet?"

"She's going to freak." Rose protested. "I don't want that."

Emmett smirked. "That probably means no. Look, I know you don't want to tell her but it's better when she hears it from you and not somebody else."

Bella nodded her head. "Lucy needs to calm the fuck down. She's all about what's best for Rose. When in truth she only wants what's best for her own interests."

Emmett shrugged his shoulders. "Kay, she won't hear anything from me. I swear. Now, which of you is the guy in the bedroom? I really want to know."

Rosalie smacked his arm again. "Why don't you get a girlfriend yourself? Or do you have trouble finding anyone who's willing to deal with you?"

"You're a bitch. I don't want a stupid girlfriend. Women are way too complicated. Swan, I give you credit for keeping up with Rose. She's so moody."

Bella pulled Rose closer against her chest. "I like Rose the way she is. Maybe, that is the secret of happiness. You need to find a woman that you like so much that you don't want to change her."

xxxxx

Esme Cullen smiled while she stirred around in food on the stove. It had been forever since she had cooked for someone else than her little daughter. She added a bit more salt to the sauce and tasted it again. Much better like this!

She looked over to the living room where her date was sitting next to Senna on the couch. Royce was good with kids. He knew how to make them feel important. Senna was usually very shy around adults she didn't know.

On the counter next to her was today's post, still unopened because she didn't have time for it yet.

"Royce, do you want some wine?" Esme called, pulling two glasses out of the cupboards above her.

"Sure," he purred, standing up from the couch to walk over to the kitchen. "Who can say no to wine?" He brushed his fingers lightly over her hair when she filled both glasses with red wine.

"Senna is a little doll." Royce said, licking his lips. "Such a dear girl,"

Esme smiled proudly. Wasn't it great that he was so smitten with Senna? Usually men didn't find little girls very interesting to talk to. "Yes, I'm very blessed to have her. She's my angel."

"Momma, can we eat now? I'm so hungry." Senna called, not moving her attention away from the TV screen.

Royce laughed. "Can I help you with anything? I'm pretty good in the kitchen."

"When a man says that it's mostly a lie." Esme stated, turning the heat off on the stove. "Why don't you keep Senna's company while I finish here?"

He kissed her cheek with cold lips and walked off after grabbing a cookie from a bowl on the table.

Maybe it would have been better to bring Senna over to Marcus so that she could be alone with her date. But Royce had insisted that he wouldn't mind having Senna there tonight.

Esme reached for the pile of post, quickly flipping through it to make sure she hadn't gotten another bill to pay. Being a single parent wasn't always easy, even with her well-paid job in the hospital.

There was a plain brown envelope that caught her attention. She ripped it open and pulled its content out. What the hell was this?

The first picture she looked at made her stomach cramp with disgust. The girl who didn't look much older than nine or ten was sitting on a bed stuffed with teddy bears. She was naked and her eyes looked fearful into the camera. She looked like she was already dead inside.

Esme's hands began to tremble when she read through the note she had found in the envelope as well.

_Dear Mrs. Cullen,_

_I thought you should know what your new boyfriend really is into. Keep your daughter safe._

_A Friend_

For an entire full minute Esme starred down at the note and the pictures, each of them worse than the other one. Then a wave of red hot anger spread through her veins.

She stormed into the living room and lifted Senna up. "Get out of my house, you perverted pig. Stay the hell away from my kid. You…you disgusting sicko."

"Momma, are you angry?"

"No, honey, everything is fine. I want you to go upstairs to your room and wait for me."

When Esme saw how Royce glared after the little girl as she jogged up the stairs, she lost it. She raised her hand and slapped him across his face. "I'll make sure you go to jail. You need to be locked away."

Royce rubbed his jaw. "Why are you so hysterical now? Did I do something to upset you?"

"You fucking piece of shit! Get out of my house!"

He reached his hand out to her, in a helpless attempt to calm her down somehow. Why was she reacting like this? Had he not been careful enough? Until now, he hadn't even dared to touch the child. Whatever it was she was accusing him of, it had no ground.

"Get some help for your mental issues." He snapped at her, his voice cold like ice. Then, he captured the picture Esme was holding. Where the hell did she get those?

"Give this back to me." He demanded. "It's not like you think it is."

"Leave now." Esme pressed out, reaching for the phone on the wall. "Or do you want me to call the police first?"

Royce snapped. Getting arrested was the last thing on earth he wanted. Angrily he jumped towards the red-haired woman in front of him and choked her. With as much force as he was capable off, he slammed her head against the wooden door frame behind her.

When she dropped to the floor a moment later and the beige carpet around her head turned red, panic spread through Royce. He took the picture she had still cramped between her fingers and rushed outside.

"Momma?" little Senna asked, slowly walking down the stairs again. Why was her mother sleeping on the carpet? "Momma!" she called out, trying to shake her awake again.

Esme blinked. Her head was throbbing. For a moment she didn't even know where she was. Senna started crying. "Momma, get up. You're making the carpet dirty."

"Give me the phone, sweetie." Esme whispered, unable to keep her eyes open for longer than a few seconds. With the last bit of strength she had, Esme dialed Marcus's number. Then she passed out again.

The voice that spoke gently to her after a while was warm and deep. She blinked again not aware of how long she had actually been unconscious.

"Look at the light, Esme." Carlisle demanded, holding a little flash light up. "You have a pretty bad concussion."

I can feel that, Esme thought. She tried to sit up but that only made the pain and nausea worse.

"Stay still. Don't try to move." Her ex-husband whispered, while he continued to examine her carefully.

"Why are you here?" Esme croaked. "I called Marcus."

"It is not very smart to call an architect when you got yourself injured." Carlisle stated. "Now, let me take a look at the wound in your head. I don't think you'll need stitches. Head wounds always bleed a lot."

"Is my Momma very sick?" Senna asked, kneeling down next to her mother on the floor. "You're going to make her okay again, right?"

Carlisle dipped some disinfectant against the blood crusted wound. "I'll take good care of your mother. Can you get me some ice from the kitchen? You can do that, can't you?"

When Senna was gone, Carlisle wiped a bit of blood from Esme's neck. "How did this happen?"

"I had a fight with my date." She murmured. "I kicked him out and he got angry."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe you should try to choose your dates a bit more carefully."

To Carlisle's horror, Esme started sobbing loudly. "I'm so stupid. How can I be so fucking stupid?"

He petted her back and helped her to sit up again. "You're not stupid. I'm sorry this happened to you. When you feel better tomorrow, we can go to the police to press charges."

"Of course, I'm stupid. Men like Royce are out to look for stupid women, women that are stupid and lonely and have kids. Oh my God."

Carlisle cupped Esme's face between his hands. "Breathe. Don't make me sedate you. Everything is going to be okay. I'll keep you safe. I promise I keep you safe."


	35. Chapter 35

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thank you for reading my Rosella fic. The chapter below is dedicated to **jm1708** and **tlc125**

_****34****_

"I don't like that you have weapons inside the house." Rosalie mumbled while she watched how Bella put the munitions out of the revolver again. "What if Resha finds this thing?"

Bella leaned over the table and kissed Rosalie's mouth. "She knows that she can't touch them. There's no need to worry."

Rosalie nibbled on her bottom lip. "It kind of sucked that Emmett showed up here to interrupt us. I could kill him for that. Thank God, he got the hint and disappeared quickly."

Very slowly Bella walked around Rose and wrapped her arms around the Blonde from behind. "I could show you how to use the revolver." Carefully she placed the weapon between Rosalie's hands.

"I can't do this."

Bella kissed Rosalie's shoulder. "Of course, you can. It's easy. Hold this part here still." She instructed. "Yes, like this. You're doing great. Now, you need to pull this smaller part here down."

Rosalie did how Bella told her. "I could never shoot someone."

"Let's hope you never have to." She tapped gently against Rosalie's fingertip. "Now, you pull the trigger." She kissed her girlfriend's neck again. "See, it's not that difficult, right?"

She dropped the weapon back on the table and cupped Rosalie's face between both of her hands. "I love you, my Beautiful."

"I love you too." Rose whispered. "You make my heart beat so fast." She reached for Bella's hand and placed it over her heart. "Can you feel that?"

Bella smiled and pulled Rose even closer into a tight embrace. "Do we want to go upstairs again? This afternoon is not over yet."

They stumbled up the stairs, unable to keep their hands off each other for just a minute. "Do you have your handcuffs here too?" Rose asked when they fell down on the bed.

"Why? Uhm, I think they're in my jacket."

Rose giggled and rushed down the stairs again. When she returned to the bedroom, she waved with the handcuffs. "I hope you have the keys for them as well."

"Of course, I have the keys here too." Bella stated, sitting up on the bed. "What do you want to do with them?"

With a wicked smirk on her pretty face, Rose pushed Bella back against the pile of pillows behind her back. "I've never arrested someone before. Maybe it's fun."

Bella pulled Rose on her lap. "You can't just arrest someone. I don't think you're qualified, Beautiful."

"Don't be so sure about that." Rosalie whispered. Then, she wrapped her hand around Bella's left arm. With a fast movement, she adjusted the handcuffs on the bedframe and the other end of it on Bella's wrist.

"See? Now, you're under arrest." She laughed and planted a kiss on the tip of Bella's nose. "Didn't I do an awesome job?"

Bella wrapped her legs around Rosalie, pushing her higher on her lap. "You wouldn't make a good cop. Before you arrest me, you need to read me my rights first."

"You have the right to kiss me." Rose mumbled, lowering her mouth to Bella's lips. "And the right to tell me where you have the stuff from your naughty shopping trip."

Bella moaned into Rosalie's mouth, deepening the kiss by teasing her lover's tongue with the tip of her own. "Closet." She whispered. "If you laugh, I will kill you."

"I'm not going to laugh." Rose promised. She kissed Bella again before she went to have a look at what Bella had purchased at the sex store.

First Rose pulled out the package with the vibe. "Why is this called a bunny? That's kind of weird somehow."

She turned the vibrator on and pressed it against the inside of Bella's thigh. "Does it feel nice?"

"I don't know yet." Bella breathed into Rosalie's ear. "Maybe it would feel better if you would put it a bit higher?"

Rose pushed down Bella's underwear and pressed a row of light kisses from Bella's knee up to her thigh. "I love that I can be myself when I'm with you."

Bella groaned when the head of the toy reached the apex of her thigh. "I think you're some naughty version of yourself right now." She moaned in frustration when Rosalie moved the vibrator downwards again. "Stop with the teasing. Please, touch me…or...or…,"

"As you wish, sweetheart, as you wish." Rose whispered. She rubbed the full length of the toy over Bella's bare mound. "Does this feel better?

The soft vibrations of the vibe against her clit sent waves of pleasure throughout Bella's body. She lifted her hips, trying to get even more friction.

"So greedy today, aren't we?" Rosalie chuckled. For a few more moments she continued rubbing the toy over Bella's slick folds. Then, very slowly she pushed inside.

Bella's inside clenched. Fuck this felt good. It felt more than good. Indeed, the intense feeling of being stretched while the toy hummed against the inner walls of her pussy was divine. The muscles in her stomach tensed. Her toes curled. A soft cry, slipped from her lips when her release made her shudder with waves of pleasure.

"Oh sweet heaven," Bella panted.

"I hope you enjoyed this. How's your hand doing?" Rose asked, caressing Bella's fingertips gently. "It's not numb or anything, right?"

Bella smiled against the Blonde's lips before Rose kissed her again. "My fingers are tingling. Can you get the key now to free me again? It's in my wallet."

Rosalie went to get the key and returned quickly. "I think I should arrest you way more often. This was very…exciting."

Bella rubbed her wrist and her fingers, trying to get rid of the unpleasant tingling in them. "Maybe I could arrest you the next time. It could be interesting. Don't you think?"

Rose didn't respond anything to it. Instead she just snuggled against Bella's side and closed her eyes. A few moments later the most awkward, grunting noises reached Bella's ear.

"One should arrest you for how you torture me with your snoring." Bella whispered. She decided to just lie there for a while. Sometimes it felt right to just do nothing.

xxxx

Alice Brandon was a girl who loved surprises. Well, the good kind of surprises of course. She loved to be surprised with a secret birthday party. She liked when the cashier in a shop told her she would get an additional 20 percent discount on her shopping.

What Alice sure as hell didn't like were the surprises that came with her unplanned pregnancy. Her taste buds had developed a strong dislike for every food except for ice-cream and red meat. She could still feel her mouth water when she remembered the juicy steak she had eaten with Emmett earlier this week.

"You have a pretty big appetite for such a small person." He had told her. His eyes had gotten laugh lines around. He was an asshole, but one with a fucking cute smile. She had to give him credit for that.

But right now, Alice had other things to worry about than brown-eyed guys. She felt yucky. Her breasts were hurting, making her bras seem like a too-tight cage. She had bought some special almond oil at the drugstore that was supposed to prevent stretch mark. How she was supposed to make it through this semester without getting any credits from J's classes was beyond her. Alice tried to push the thoughts aside.

What she needed was a part-time job to help her deal with all the extra costs that having the baby would bring.

"This is all your fault that your Daddy left us," she whispered, letting her fingertips circle over the skin under her bellybutton. "But I still love you, little troublemaker."

The doorbell started ringing, interrupting Alice's one-sided dialogue with the baby inside her belly.

With a sigh, she stood up from her couch to open the door. If James would dare to show his face here again, she would break his nose a second time. Since the awful scene in his office, he had completely ignored her. Someone at school had spread the rumor, he was transferring to another College for the winter semester.

"Surprise!" Zafrina called out, pulling the girl into an embrace. "God, you look so tired and pale. Doesn't she look tired and pale, Mr. Brandon?"

Alice's father cleared his throat. He leaned down and pressed a kiss on her head. "She looks like someone who's more partying than studying."

"I'm the best student ever." Alice lied, crossing her fingers behind her back. Crap, he's going to freak when I don't pass this semester, she thought. Her hands moved to her abdomen again. Maybe she should take the rest of the semester off and try to find some work instead? It seemed like a good plan to her.

"Aren't you happy to see us?" Mr. Brandon asked. "You weren't expecting someone else, were you?

"No, I was just studying. Of course, I'm happy to see you. What are you doing here in Seattle?"

"Your father thought it would be a good idea to surprise you." Zafrina stated. "So, he booked both of us on a flight. It's lovely. I've never been to Seattle before."

"Yes, we came to surprise you." he stated, handing Alice a box. "Zafrina said those boots are your size. She picked them up. So, thank her."

"Thank you, Mammy. You're the best." She kissed Zafrina's cheek, then that of her father. "How's the shop doing, Dad?

A smirk appeared on the man's face. "Excellent. Business is doing excellent. I've just signed an exclusive deal with Volturi Jewelry. Isn't that fantastic?"

Alice made a puking noise. "I can't stand this weirdo Aro Volturi. He's kind of creepy, Dad."

"Zafrina?" Alice's father said in a sharp voice. "Haven't you taught her that it's not appropriate to call business partners creepy?"

Zafrina laughed loudly. "I taught her to speak the truth." She turned to Alice with a wide smile. "Haven't I, honey? Now, let's get you in something nicer than those ugly sweatpants you're wearing. He booked us a table in some fancy restaurant and I'm starving."

While her father waited in the living room, Zafrina followed Alice into her bedroom. "How's school going?" she asked, sitting down at the edge of the bed. "You still think messing with people's brain is what you want to do for a living?"

Alice nodded. "I think so. Look, does this dress go with that belt? I haven't worn it in forever."

Zafrina's fingers brushed over the purple silk. "I think you should wear it as long as you can. Who knows what your figure will be like after the baby's born."

The belt between Alice's hands dropped to the floor. For a moment she considered lying but then she decided against it. "Am I already showing?"

Zafrina reached out her hand. "Come sit with me, little pigeon. You're not showing. I'm just good at reading you."

She hugged the girl and stroked lightly over Alice's head. A moment later the young woman burst into tears. This was another thing she disliked about being pregnant. It made her so goddamn sensitive all the time.

"Shhh, this is no need to cry. Or are you scared to tell your father? I can handle that if you want."

"Don't tell him." Alice sobbed. "I want to tell him myself. But not yet, okay?"

Zafrina hugged Alice a bit tighter. "Maybe you and the baby's father should tell him together."

Alice sniffed. When she was about to wipe her nose at the back of her hand, Zafrina handed her a tissue. "Here. There's no reason to forget one's manner."

"There is no Daddy." Alice sobbed. "He…well, he…he broke up with me when I told him I'm pregnant."

"Oh my babygirl, I'm sorry to hear that. Please, stop crying now. Everything is going to be okay. It's never as bad as it looks."

For a while Zafrina rocked Alice back and forth in her arms. "You're not going to tell Dad, right? Right, Mammy?"

"Yes, yes, I promise. My lips are sealed. Now, wash your face and get dressed. I bet your baby is hungry too."


	36. Chapter 36

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] I hope you're all having a nice weekend. Thank you for the lovely reviews, you left me on the last chapter. I cherish your support so much.

FAQ's

Will Emmett and Alice end up together in this story?

Most likely, so if you don't like the idea…hmm…well, you can never please everybody.

Who's Alice's Dad?

Mr. George Brandon is an OC. I specially named him after the new prince lol. If you'd like a visual, Pierce Brosnan comes pretty close to how I picture him to look like.

*The chapter below is dedicated to **CrimeSceneLover3** and **Villemo79**

_****35****_

Lucy Hale nipped on the cup of black coffee in front of her, frowning when the bitter drink hit her taste buds. She didn't like black coffee but life was not supposed to be about always doing what you liked. Wasn't it?

Her fingertips petted the fur of the cat on her lap, making the brown-furred animal purr in approval.

"Mr. Jenks, sometimes I think you're the only one who truly understands me."

She took another sip from her drink and sighed. Her eyes fell to the pile of wedding invitations next to her. It would have been such a spectacular event. Lucy had dreamed her whole life about a romantic fairytale wedding like this.

The wedding she wanted but never was lucky enough to celebrate herself. She stood up from her chair, carefully placing Mr. Jenks on the floor again.

Her fingertip brushed tenderly over the gold-framed picture of her late husband. Jasper had been a good man. It was probably part of life's injustice that the good and kind always got hurt in the end.

She grabbed the box that was standing on a sideboard and opened it up. The silk of the ivory wedding dress felt smooth and cold against Lucy's fingers. It was the most magnificent dress she could imagine. Lucy remembered buying it, embarrassing herself and the shop assistant by paying it with not one, but four different credit cards.

But the soft dream of lace and silk wasn't the gown Lucy Hale had gotten married in. The woman frowned at the memory of the burgundy-colored maternity dress she had worn on the day she had become Mrs. Lucy Hale.

"It's not about the dress." Jasper had told her, taking her hand to blow a kiss over its back. Her skin tingled at the memory of his tender caress.

She took the box and carried it upstairs to her bedroom where she put it somewhere in the deepest corner of her closet.

A feeling of loneliness swapped through her. Lucy grabbed her phone to call one of her children.

"Mom," Emmett groaned into the receiver. "It's Sunday, why are waking me up?"

"It's past eleven. I'm already home again from church. Don't tell me you've been asleep?"

She could hear him curse under his breathe. Lucy smacked her lips. "I wanted to ask if you've already heard back from the coaching job?"

He slurped on something. "They want a second meeting tomorrow morning. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed."

"I hope it turns out as you hope, boy. Now, well, when you have to be here tomorrow morning anyway. Why don't you come here tonight and take your old mother out for dinner?"

"Sure, Mom, why not. Now, let me go back to sleep, okay?" He grumbled.

Lucy shook her head. Emmett was such a sleepyhead. She remembered how she had practically forced him out of bed every day to get him to school in time.

"Great, I'm looking forward to seeing you, boy. By the way, do you know where your sister is? I left a message on her phone but she's not calling back."

"What am I? Her secretary? Try Bella's place. I think she's there over the weekend."

He murmured a goodbye and Lucy disconnected the call. She was just about to fish the Swan's number out and try to call Rose there, when her phone started ringing again.

"Hale" she purred into the phone with an overly sweet tone, she always reserved for strangers. The phone cracked.

"Lucy, it's me. Royce. This is the only call I get to make, so you need to listen well."

"Only call? Royce, where are you? Why weren't you at church today? Are you sick?" The line cracked again. Lucy held the phone a bit further from her ear. "Royce?"

"I'm at the police station. They've arrested me."

"Damn it, Royce, you promised to get therapy. You promised—"

"Keep your mouth shut. They're probably tracking this call. I got arrested because this awful Cullen woman pressed charges against me."

Lucy sat down on the ground and closed her eyes. "Why are you calling me then and not a lawyer?"

"Because I need money to get out here." He stated, clearing his throat. "You need to help me."

"Not this time." Lucy snapped. "You promised you'd get treatment. Maybe you getting arrested is only for the best."

"How dare you?" Royce growled. "Listen, Mrs. Hale, listen well. You know, I know stuff about you that you wouldn't want others to know about."

Lucy bit the inside of her cheek, tasting the blood on her tongue a second later. "You wouldn't do that. You have more to lose than me."

He laughed an annoyingly high-pitched laugh full of disrespect. "Is it like that, Lucy? Is it like this?"

With shaking fingers, Lucy ended the call. She could feel the sweat beginning to pour out of her pores. She got up and tumbled to the bathroom.

The woman staring back at her in the mirror looked like the perfect image of a lady. Her hair was tight up into a knot, the crème-colored dress, she was wearing simple but elegant. She had put on the pair of simple white pearl-earrings she had gotten on her tenth wedding anniversary. Still, Lucy knew deep inside her heart, that all of this was just a façade.

No pearl-earrings or Chanel costumes would ever distinguish what she really was. Lucy would rather die than let anyone find out about it, though.

xxxx

"You're still wearing his earrings." Bella stated, brushing her fingertip over the shell of Rosalie's ear. She snuggled closer against her girlfriend and kissed her neck.

"Do you think, I should give them back to Carlisle? It was a gift."

"Yes." Bella mumbled, nuzzling her nose against Rosalie's neck. "A gift for his fiancée,"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll take them out." With a quick movement, she fumbled the clasps of the earrings open and placed them on the table. "I really liked those."

Bella giggled and pulled Rose into her arms again. "Don't be sad. I could always get you some other jewelry, if you want me to."

Rosalie kissed Bella's mouth. "We don't have money for unnecessary stuff like earrings. I've decided that I want to move back to Forks. Now, wish me luck with the garage."

Bella's heart made a joyful jump inside her chest. Rose was going to move back to Forks; the thought of living together with her filled Bella with happiness.

"Mommy, can I have some Oreos?" Resha asked, jumping down the stairs, taking two, then three at a time. "I'm hungry."

Bella rose from the couch. It was starting to get difficult to keep her affection for Rosalie from her little daughter. Hugging and kissing Rose, just felt way too irresistible to her.

"Come here and sit with us, sweetie." Rose said, petting the spot next to her on the couch. "We can share some."

Resha reached for the package and pulled a cookie out. "Rosie, do you think my Daddy is going to come visit me for my birthday?"

Bella sighed. "I'm sure, he'll be here. He won't miss your big day, right?"

Crap, now she needed to call Tyler and tell him to get his lazy ass here. She could barely endure being in one room with her ex without snapping at him. Their relationship was so tensed. But Bella knew it would break Resha's heart to celebrate her seventh birthday without her father.

"Rosie, you can come too." Resha mumbled, licking off the filling of her cookie. "You can sleep in my room."

Bella wrapped her arm around Rose and took the half of the cookie, Rosalie had been nibbling on. "I think she's fine with staying with me. Aren't you, Rose?"

The Blonde nodded. "Your mom is right. I will stay in her bedroom. Now, sweetie, why don't you tell me what you want for birthday? We could get you a new Barbie doll. The one you wanted. What was it…Rapunzel?"

"Yes, I want her. My Daddy said he's going to get it for me. He won't forget, right?"

Bell pressed her lips together. Resha was so young and she was already starting to grasp that you couldn't rely on anything Tyler promised you.

The little girl snuggled against Rosalie's side. "Rose, I like when you're visiting. Mommy's not so strict when you are here."

"I'm not strict." Bella protested. "I only want what's in your best interest. Now, stop with the cookies. We're going to have dinner in an hour."

She grabbed the package and went to put it away in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Resha had discovered the pearl-earrings on the table.

"Oh they are so pretty, Rose. I want earrings too."

Rose smiled while an idea formed in her head. She held up the earrings against Resha's ear. "We could get your ears pierced for your birthday. Would you like that?"

Resha nodded her head. "Is Mommy going to allow it?"

"I think so. Let me go and ask her, okay?"

Rose went to the kitchen where Bella was about to chop an onion. Tears were pouring down her cheeks. "Nah, nah, no need to cry." Rosalie mumbled, hugging Bella from behind.

"It's just the stupid onions." Bella mumbled, putting them aside. "Go keep Resha's company while I finish cooking here."

"I could help you." Rose offered. "You don't need to do all the work." She kissed Bella's hair and hummed. "Your hair smells good."

"It smells like kitchen." Bella protested. "Now, if you want to help, you can cut this cucumber. It's the only kind of vegetable I can make Resha eat without her throwing a tantrum."

Rose laughed. "I understand. Hey, I would like to get her earrings for her birthday. You'd be okay with that, right?"

Bella started peeling another onion. "I don't know. She's too young."

"I was three when I got my ears pierced and look how nice my ears turned out." She laughed, pushing her hair over her shoulder.

Bella placed the knife, she was holding on the counter. She wrapped one arm around Rosalie's waist and pulled her close. "I think I need to take a closer look." She kissed Rosalie's earlobe. Then she tightened their embrace and placed a passionate kiss on her lover's mouth.

"Mommy, what are you doing?"

The women jumped apart. Crap, they hadn't wanted to have the girl find out like this. If only they had been a bit more careful.

Taking a deep breathe, Bella went down on her knees. "Come here, honey. Mommy needs to tell you something."

"We need to tell you something." Rose added, sitting down on the chair behind Bella. "Your Mommy and I…we…love each other. That's why we like to kiss each other on the lips."

Resha nibbled her lower lip. "You mean like Snow White and Prince Charming love each other?"

Bella nodded. "Yes, kind of like that, sweetie."

"Or like Rapunzel and Flynn?" she asked, sucking her lip between her teeth again. "Like this?"

"Yes, Resha, that's how we love each other." Rose said, placing her hand on Bella's shoulder. "Now, do you think you understand it?"

"Maybe a bit." The girl mumbled. "Can I go to my room until dinner is ready?"

"Sure, sweetie." Bella whispered. She reached out her hand to her little daughter and pulled her close. "Mommy loves you. You know that, right?"

Resha nodded and grabbed another cookie from the box on the counter before she went to her room.

Bella sighed and leaned her head against Rosalie's knee. "Thank you for explaining things to Resha. I had no idea what to tell her."

"Children are smart. Sometimes you just need to tell them the simple truth how things are like."

"You're probably right" Bella said. "But Rapunzel and Flynn? Wasn't he some kind of thief?"

Rosalie chuckled. "I don't really remember the movie. But you've stolen my heart, so the comparison with a thief is quite fitting somehow.


	37. Chapter 37

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome back, my dear readers. Thanks for your reviews. I cherish your support so much.

Today's update is dedicated to **xXhiddenbeautyXP** for being the _500__th_ reviewer.

_****36****_

Bella had almost fallen asleep next to Rosalie on the couch when the phone started ringing. It was Charlie who picked up. He murmured into the phone for a few moments before he handed the phone to his daughter.

"Some Edward Masen for you, Bella." He said, walking off into the kitchen to grab another beer.

"Who is Edward Masen?" Rose asked, sitting up a bit straighter on the couch. She was glad that she was only starting work tomorrow afternoon, so she and Bella would have a few more hours together.

Bella cleared her throat. "Good evening, Mr. Masen." She said, trying to speak in a voice that would hopefully sound professional.

"Hello Bella. How are you?"

"Fine, thanks for asking." Bella responded politely. "How about yourself?"

Through the phone she could hear him coughing and ordering a coffee. Was he in some café?

"We have some news on the case we're working on. I thought I let you know that someone's been arrested."

Good Riddance! Bella felt an instant wave of relief. She hated men that lurked after innocent children more than she had words for it.

"Are you still there?" Edward asked. "I'm not disturbing you with anything important. Am I?"

"No, no." Bella mumbled. She went to the kitchen and leaned back against the counter. "It's great that you arrested the sick fucker."

Edward laughed bitterly. "He's just a small fish. We need to find out where he ordered this stuff."

"Will he tell you?" Bella asked. "You could make him tell you. Couldn't you?"

"Well, we can, if we manage to keep him behind bars long enough. That perv is obviously trying to talk some friend of his into bailing him out."

Crap, Bella thought. But who would be so dumb to bail out a child molester?

"What are you going to do now?"

"We'll run the pictures we've found through some search machines. Then we'll have some poor parents, whose children have been abducted have a look at the pictures too. Maybe someone will recognize their daughter."

"God, this is horrible." Bella groaned. "If my— I mean, it's horrible for those parents."

"It is, Bella. It is. Look, there's a reason why I contacted you. Does the name Royce King ring any bells for you?"

Royce? Bella wondered. Why was Edward mentioning Royce now?

"Uhm, he's friends with my girlfriend's mother. Why are you asking about him?"

Edward cleared his throat. "Well, I'm asking because Royce is the man who got arrested. The woman who he called to ask her to bail him out is called Lucy Hale."

Bella could feel her stomach beginning to cramp. Her knees felt weak, making it difficult for the young woman to keep her balance.

"Can I c-c-call you back?" she stuttered into the receiver before she disconnected the call without waiting for Edward's response.

Royce King was a child molester? And what in heaven's name had Lucy to do with him?

"Bella, honey, are you okay?" Rose asked, walking towards her pale looking girlfriend. "Bad news?"

Bella took a deep breath. "That was someone from the police in Seattle. They arrested Royce King."

Rosalie's mouth trembled. A feeling of relief spread through her. She hoped they would let that pig rot behind bars for a very long time. "Good," she whispered, the word barely audible. "It's good they arrested him."

Bella raised one eyebrow. "Aren't you going to ask me why they arrested him?"

Rose's face turned white like a ghost and it took Bella only a second to put two and two together.

"You know? Don't you? You know why they arrested him? How?"

Rosalie's voice cracked. "Mind your own damn business, Bella. I don't want to talk about this. I can't. I fucking can't!"

The blonde woman could feel a strong wave of nausea beginning to spread through her. She felt dirty. Why the hell did Bella have to get involved into this?

Rose rushed up the stairs. She locked herself into the bathroom and curled into a ball on the cold floor. I can't tell Bella she thought, feeling tears pour down her face. What if she doesn't believe me?

"Rose?" Bella asked, knocking at the closed door. "Beautiful, are you okay? Don't make me break this door open."

Rose sighed. She wiped her eyes at the sleeve of her shirt before she opened the door again. "Don't look at me."

Bella kneeled down next to Rosalie on the floor. "Rose, you're scaring me." She wrapped her arm around her girlfriend and pulled her closer. "Why do you know why they arrested Royce?"

"Because…because I sent the pictures to Esme's house." Rose sobbed. "I b-b-broke into his house and stole them."

Bella reached for a roll of toilet paper and helped Rosalie to clean her nose. "Why did you do that? How did you know he had this sick stuff at his place?"

Rose laughed. A shrill, hysterical sound that sent shivers down Bella's spine.

"How I know? How do I know? Oh my God!"

Bella pulled Rosalie closer and started stroking her blonde hair very gently. "Honey, please. You need to tell me what you know." Bella demanded. "Are you scared of Royce?"

Rose shook her head no, unable to give Bella a verbal response to her question.

"Of course, you're scared." Bella stated after a moment of silence. "Just look at you. Your hands are quivering. I just don't understand why?"

Rose inhaled deeply between her teeth. Then she stared down at the tiles on the wall across from them.

"If I tell you, you can't tell anyone else." She started hesitantly. "Promise me, you won't tell anyone. Will you?"

Bella nodded. "Just tell me, darling. You can tell me everything. Don't you know that?"

Not this, Rosalie thought. Not this. She opened her mouth and when she spoke up it didn't feel like she was telling Bella about herself. It was almost like she was talking about a complete stranger.

"You remember how Royce was my manager when I did beauty pageant as a child?"

"Yes, I remember that." Bella said, while she continued to stroke tenderly over Rosalie's head and back.

"So, I was at his house and he made me sing "I feel pretty" for what felt like a million times. I got thirsty from singing and Royce gave me some sweet grape juice. It made me sleepy. When I woke up again, I was in a room without windows. I could hear a camera clicking and clicking. Then I passed off again. When I opened my eyes again, my hand was covered with his….God, I can't even tell you. It's too much. I can't."

Bella could feel her heart cramping inside her chest with so much force, it knocked the breath out of her lungs. Royce had hurt her Rose. She didn't know how yet but somehow she was going to make him pay. Nobody hurt someone she loved and got away with it.

"You believe me. Don't you?" Rose whispered. "Please say you believe me. I'm not making it up."

Bella pulled Rose as tight against her chest as she could. "Of course, I do believe you." She kissed Rosalie's hair. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. I'm so sorry he hurt you."

"You're not going to tell anyone, right?" Rosalie asked, choking back another wave of tears.

"I won't." Bella whispered. "Don't be afraid anymore, honey. You're safe now. I'll keep you safe. No one will ever hurt you again."

xxxx

Lucy Hale's nerves were blank. She didn't know what to do. If Royce let anyone in about her past, she was screwed. But how could she bail out a child molester? If she only knew what to do, Lucy thought. If she only knew…

"Mom, are you on a diet?" Emmett asked while he watched how his mother pushed her vegetables around from one side of her plate to the other.

"No," Lucy lied. "I'm just not very hungry tonight."

"You're never hungry." He stated. "Women are strange creatures. I like girls with a healthy appetite."

He wiped his mouth on a napkin and stood up from his chair. "Excuse me for a moment. Call of nature."

On his way back from the restrooms, Emmett bumped into a raven-haired beauty, wearing a purple silk dress.

"Are you following me, dwarf?"

"Wow," Alice snarled. "Another dwarf joke. How creative."

"I'm sorry." Emmett mumbled. "I was trying to be funny. That's usually my strong point."

"Making fun of my size is not funny for me." Alice told him. "And why would you try to be funny? How about just being yourself instead of playing the buffoon nonstop?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know how that would be like. I've never tried it before."

"Maybe it's time." Alice suggested. "Now, what are you doing here?"

"I'm having dinner with my mother." He said. "Well, actually I'm having dinner and she's pushing her food around on her plate, pretending she's eating."

Alice giggled. "It's nice that you're taking out your Mom for dinner, whether she's eating or not."

"You ate when we went out." He said. "You ate almost as much as I did."

Yes, you moron, Alice thought. That's because the baby in my belly is such a hoggish little thing. Automatically her hands moved down to her abdomen again. She was convinced the bump was getting noticeable. Soon she would start looking like a bloated whale.

"I have to go now." Alice mumbled. "My father and Zafrina are probably waiting for me and wondering why I'm taking so long."

"Enjoy your dinner, Alice." Emmett told her, his lips curling into a smile. "Oh and before I forget it, this dress really looks good on you."

She granted him a wide smile. "See, you can be nice, if you just try hard enough. See you around, Emmett."

With that she walked off, carefully making sure to let her hips swing softly back and forth until she was out of Emmett's sight again.

"There you are again, sweetie." Zafrina called out. "Come sit and eat before your steak gets cold. Cold steak tastes awful."

"I'm starving." Alice stated, cutting through the piece of meat on her plate. "God, I'm so hungry."

"One could think, you haven't eaten a whole weak. "Alice's father said. "Are you spending all your money on clothes?"

"No, I'm not." Alice told him, chewing another piece of steak. "Can't I eat when I'm hungry?"

"Sure, sure." Her Dad mumbled. "Eat as much as you like. Look, honey, like I told you, I've signed a deal with Volturi Jewelry. That means, I'll be flying to Italy next week."

Zafrina cleared her throat. "What your father really wants to tell you is that he's not going to need a housekeeper in the next time. That means I get to stay here in Seattle with you for a while. Isn't that nice?"

"Really, Mammy? That's fantastic!" Alice jumped from her chair and wrapped her arms around Zafrina. "Oh, you and I are going to have so much fun here together."

Mr. Brandon coughed. "Zafrina is staying here to have an eye on you. Don't disappoint me, young lady. You promised to take your studies seriously."

"Yes, Dad." Alice mumbled. Crap, he was going to be so mad at her, when he was going to find out about how she had fucked up her academic career before it had actually begun.

A waitress placed a gigantic bowl filled with ice-cream, chocolate sauce and whipped cream in front of Alice.

"We didn't order this." Alice's father stated.

"I know." The waitress responded. "Some gentleman ordered it for the Miss. He said I should give her this note as well."

Alice dipped her spoon into the ice-cream and sighed. There couldn't be anything more delicious than ice-cream, could there be?

_To a small girl with a big appetite_ – was written on the note. _PS: Are you going to go out with me again? I promise to hold back with the dwarf jokes. Em._


	38. Chapter 38

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Today's update is dedicated to **Teampara55** and **Rayna23**

_****37****_

Rosalie tried to focus her concentration on the engine in front of her. It was a weak attempt to distract her from thinking too much about yesterday. She still couldn't believe how she had managed to bring up the courage to tell Bella about her dark secret. Now, she was worried how it was going to affect their relationship. Bella had been so very quiet after their conversation. It was like she wasn't sure what to tell Rosalie. At least, she had believed her. Rosalie was more than relieved. She trusted Bella with her life.

"Pretty ass, your brother is here for you." Paul called from the other side of the garage."

Rose sighed and untied another cable in the motor compartment. She couldn't wait to finally quit her job here. Paul's annoying comments sure weren't something she was going to miss. She really needed to contact this stupid modeling agency to get a job there. A few hours of boring modeling would bring her more cash than she made at the garage in an entire week.

"Hi, Rose." Emmett greeted her, planting a kiss on his sister's cheek. "How's it going?"

"No too bad." Rose responded. "I was in Forks over the weekend. How was your job interview?"

He smirked and held up his hand, forming a ring with his thumb and forefinger. "They are taking me, starting in two months. Isn't that great? No more school kids to yell at. I'm so glad."

Rosalie hugged him. "I'm happy for you."

"This calls for some celebrations." Emmett stated. "When do you get off from this shit place?"

Rose took a look over to Paul who seemed close to falling asleep any minute.

"Pauly?" Rose purred. "Can you help me over here?"

She had to hold back a giggle when Paul instantly straightened his back and walked towards her and Emmett.

"Yes, sweet ass?"

"Could you please finish fixing this battery for me, so that I can finish earlier tonight?"

Paul hesitated. He wasn't keen on taking over extra work from Rosalie. On the other hand he was thrilled that she was suddenly talking all sweet and nice to him. No woman had ever resisted his charms. Rosalie, this stupid dyke, wouldn't be any different from all the others.

"Alight, Rose." Paul said eventually. "But don't forget to wear those tight jeans tomorrow. They make your pretty ass look fucking hot."

Rose washed her hands and waved Paul a quick goodbye before she followed Emmett outside to his car.

"Crap, I forget my keys." Emmett mumbled, leaving Rosalie waiting on the parking lot outside.

When he returned inside the garage, he saw Paul leaning over the hood of the car. With a fast movement, he grabbed the smaller guy around his waist and pushed Paul against the wall behind them.

"I don't like the way, you talk to my sister." Emmett snapped. "Now, I know that Rosie can handle her shit pretty fine on her own." He tightened his grab around Paul's jaw. "It's just that sometimes I have some issues with my temper. Don't give me a reason to defend my sister's honor. It wouldn't end well for this pretty face of yours."

Emmett slammed Paul's head a bit too roughly against the wall and spit on the ground before he walked out again, whistling joyfully through his teeth.

A few minutes later, when Rosalie and Emmett were sitting across from each other in a bar, he noticed how pale his sister actually looked. Yes, sure, she had smeared a ton of make-up crap on, but her lips were chapped and her eyes seemed somehow too huge in the heart-shaped face.

"I want to open my own garage." Rosalie told him, nipping on the bottle of beer in front of her. "But I need to save up some money for that first."

Emmett nodded his head. "I understand. Are you going to move back to Forks to be with Bella?"

Rosalie smiled. It was the first real smile she was showing him tonight. Bella was obviously good for his sister.

"Have you told Mom about the new job yet?" Rose asked, taking another sip from the beer. She disliked the slightly bitter taste of it. Still, she continued drinking, enjoying the pleasant warmth, filling her stomach with every sip.

Emmett frowned. "I don't have the nerves to deal with her today. She was kind of annoying yesterday."

"How?"

"Well, you know how Mom's like. She picked around in her food, like it was causing her inner pain to eat like a normal person. Then she complained the entire evening about how Jasper doesn't call her often enough."

Rosalie reached over the table and placed her hand on Emmett's. "He's her favorite. It's always been like this."

Emmett's mouth twitched. "You were Dad's. He loved you so much."

Rosalie tried to remember her father but the memories of him were very blurred. "I think he loved all of us equally."

"No, you were his favorite." Emmett told Rose. "I know for sure."

"How much do you remember about Dad?" Rosalie asked, putting the empty bottle back on the table again. "Sometimes when I look at the pictures, I can't imagine him as a real person."

"You were only eight when he died. It's normal that you don't remember a lot of things. Look, do we have to talk about this now? It's kind of killing my mood."

Rosalie cringed. "Yes, sure, let's talk about something else. How are things between you and Alice?"

Emmett gulped down the rest of his drink. "I don't know yet. We're going out Friday night. But it's so difficult with her."

"Why?" Rosalie asked. "I thought you like her?"

"I like her. Whenever I'm near her, it's like my brain isn't working properly. I want to think of her as a fuck buddy but somehow I can't."

"Are you two having sex?" Rose asked. "I didn't know that."

"Not yet." Emmett told her quickly. "But there is always hope for the future, isn't there?"

xxxx

Lucy pressed her sweating hands into tight fists. She was having a hard time to keep her emotions at bay.

"You have a beautiful house, Mrs. Hale." The young FBI agent complimented her. "Oh was that your late husband?" he grabbed the picture and held it up.

Lucy cleared her throat nervously. "Mr. Masen, Sir, I still don't understand what you are looking for."

"Answers." Edward stated. "I'm always looking for answers. Aren't we all?"

They returned to the living room where he sat down at the edge of her leather couch. "Now, are you going to tell me why Royce King contacted you to bail out his ass?"

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

Edward crossed his arms in front of his chest and sighed. "Look, Mrs. Hale. We can make this easy or hard for you. Would you like to spend a night in jail?"

Lucy's lower lip began to quiver. "You can't arrest me for nothing."

Again, Edward granted the woman sitting across from him a crooked smile. "Wasn't your husband a police officer? You should know that obstruction of justice is a federal offense."

"Mr. Masen, please, I really can't help you." Please leave, Lucy added silently in her head. She was close to crying now. Maybe if she did, Masen would take pity on her and leave her alone.

"Mrs. Hale. Can you tell me how you know Mr. King?"

Lucy nodded her head. "Royce used to be my daughter's manager. She was doing beauty pageants as a child."

Edward reached for his bag. He pulled out an envelope and placed a row of pictures on the coffee table. "You know what a pedophile would say to a little girl like this, dressed up like a Barbie doll?"

"This is not what beauty pageants are about. It's supposed to be fun for the girls." Lucy stated, unable to move her eyes from her ten-year-old daughter's face. She remembered how Rosalie had always complained how she hated the make-up and getting her hair done. Lucy had still forced her young daughter to attend a contest almost every weekend. It was good money. It was an even bigger chance at becoming rich and famous. If you just got rich enough, nobody could hurt you anymore.

"So, what are they about?" Edward asked. "Is this a way for frustrated women to relive their youth through their poor children?"

"I don't need to let someone insult myself in my own house." Lucy snapped, barely able to suppress her anger anymore. Who the hell did this Masen think he was that he had a right to judge her for anything?

"I apologize if I offended you, Mrs. Hale." Edward said. "Now, tell me, has Royce King ever showed some behavior towards your daughter that could be called…inappropriate?"

Lucy's head moved from left to right and back to the left side again. She had sold her daughter's soul and she knew it. There was no way she could ever make things undone.

"Would you mind if I asked your daughter about this as well?" Edward asked, noticing how Lucy started fidgeting nervously around on her fingernails.

"Please, don't do this." Lucy pleaded eventually. "Rose isn't doing very well right now. She just called off her engagement."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Now, Mrs. Hale, if this case ends up in court, are you willing to swear under oath what you just told me?"

"Of course," Lucy whispered, her voice cracking slightly. "Are you finished with questioning me now?"

"I haven't even started, Mrs. Hale." Edward told her with another smile flashing over his face. "Aren't you originally from Tennessee? Pretty far from Seattle, isn't it?"

"What does that have to do with Royce King?" Lucy snapped. Her nerves were blank now.

"Oh, we'll get to that part of the story." Edward said. "No need to fast forward."

Lucy sighed deeply. "I'd like to keep some parts of my past to myself." She forced herself to stop pulling around on her cuticles. "Do you think you could respect this wish, Mr. Masen?"

"That depends on the price, Mrs. Hale. Sometimes the price for a wish is too high. I can promise you to be discreet, should you start being a little cooperative with me?"

Lucy stood up from her seat and walked over to the gold-framed picture of her family. On the edges the golden paint was already chipped off. Lucy Hale's perfect world was only perfect when you didn't dare to take a too close look at it.

"What if I don't want to cooperate with you?" she asked. "You're making me feel, like I'm a suspect."

"Some crimes fall under the statute of limitation. I'm sure you are aware of this."

"I never committed any crimes." Lucy said, her voice cracking nervously.

"Look, Mrs. Hale, the FBI is good at digging out old dirt." Edward stated. "Now, would you mind, taking a look at this specific picture here?"

He pulled a black and white photography out and placed it on top of Rosalie's childhood pictures.

"You hadn't much of a lady in you back then. Right, Lucy?" His fingertips brushed over the photo. "Fishnet stockings were pretty popular in the eighties, weren't they?"

"It's still Mrs. Hale to you Mr. Masen. The past is the past. It doesn't matter anymore."

"If you say so, Mrs. Hale, if you say so. You know what I don't get? Why would a young police officer marry a teenage street hooker? Did your husband watch Pretty Woman too often or what?"

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, RIGHT NOW!" Lucy yelled, ripping the picture of her young self into tiny pieces. She couldn't believe how this horrible FBI man dared to show up at her house and wave with the proof of her shameful past right in front of her face. "Right now, Mr. Masen! Leave!"

Edward grabbed the pictures and his jacket and went outside. This had turned out better than he had hoped for. He knew that he was just inches away from having Lucy Hale, exactly where he needed the woman to be.


	39. Chapter 39

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to a new update, my dear readers. Thank you for your lovely reviews. Without your support, I could never do this.

The chapter below is dedicated to **lissie boo** and **LovaticFever**.

_****38****_

The alarm clock on Bella's nightstand showed her that it was just after 4 a.m. She sat up straight in her bed, wiping some beads of sweat from her forehead. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Bella knew that it would be impossible for her to go back to sleep. Not after this horrible nightmare, she had woken up from. She couldn't stop thinking about the dream.

In the dream, Rose or more precisely a tiny version of Rose was hiding under a table while a camera kept on clicking, blinding the girl with its bright light. Again and again, Bella reached out her hand to little Rose but the girl only backed off. "Help me." she whispered and that was the moment Bella had woken up, covered in sweat.

With a deep sigh, she tried to shake off the dark images from her mind. She got up, went to the bathroom at the end of the corridor and splashed some icy water into her overheated face.

She was still shocked, almost traumatized by the terrible things Rose had confessed to her. How could something like this happen to someone she knew? More so, how could Rosalie's mother let such a thing happen to her own child? There could only be one reason why. Lucy had no idea what kind of monster she had chosen to manage her daughter's so-called career.

Bella tiptoed back to her room, but then she turned around once more and opened the door to Resha's bedroom. There she was. Sleeping curled up on her side with her thumb in her mouth. For a couple of minutes, Bella stood there, watching her sleeping daughter. It filled her with an inner peace to see her child safe.

"Mommy?" the little girl groaned, blinking tiredly. "Is it morning yet?"

"No, sweetie," Bella whispered, stepping closer to Resha's bed to sit down on its edge. "It's not morning yet. Go back to sleep."

Resha hummed and snuggled closer against her mother. "I'm so tired."

"I know, honey. Just go back to sleep. I'll keep you safe." Bella continued caressing the girl's hair with her fingertips until Resha's breathing got slower again.

"My big girl. I can't believe you'll be seven in a few days." Bella mumbled, pulling the blanket over Resha again. Instantly the girl kicked it off again. Maybe she was too warm.

Bella got up and went downstairs, trying to distract herself by flipping through the TV channels. The crap that was on in the early morning hours was simply awful. She was just about to drift back into some kind of half-asleep state of mind, when her cell started vibrating and a new message popped up on the screen.

"Good Morning, Bella." It read. "Call me when you get up, whenever you get up. E."

Bella groaned. She had never truly been a morning person. Why the hell was Agent Masen texting her at such an early hour?

After getting up and starting the coffee machine in the kitchen, she sat down again and dialed Edward Masen's number.

"Hello, Bella." He greeted her, picking up at the second ring. "You are up early."

"So, are you, Edward." Bella mumbled, stretching her legs under the kitchen table.

"I suffer from a pretty bad form of insomnia." Edward told her. "But what about you?"

"It doesn't matter. Can you tell me why you wanted me to call you back?"

He cleared his throat and sighed deeply before he spoke up again. "You seemed very affected when we spoke the last time. Tell me, Bella are you familiar with the suspect Royce King?"

Bella could barely manage to hold back the hatred in her voice when she responded. "Not very well," she confessed. If she had known what kind of disgusting sicko that man was, she had killed him as soon as an opportunity had presented itself to her.

She was a cop. To take the law into her own hands was something she had never thought much about. But how could she let Royce get away with what the bastard had done to Rose?

"Bella, are you still there?"

"Yes," Bella whispered. "I'm sorry. It's still a bit too early for me."

A loud honk reached her ears. "It's alright. Look, I'm in my car now. Can we talk later at the police station?"

"You're coming to Forks?" Bella asked, standing up to fill a mug with steaming hot black coffee. "Why?"

"We'll talk about the why, when you are awake. I'll see you in two hours."

xxxx

Bella was nipping on her second coffee while she flipped through some paperwork at the police station. She was glad that today was Charlie's day off. How should she explain a visit from an FBI agent to her suspicious father?

When Edward entered the building he looked way too put together for someone who had gotten up in the middle of the night. His reddish brown hair was tamed back with some gel and there was a self-satisfied smile on his face.

"Good Morning, Bella. Isn't it a beautiful morning?"

"Maybe somewhere else." She mumbled. "Do you want some coffee?"

"Just some water, please. Am I keeping you away from anything important?"

Bella rolled her eyes as soon as he turned her back to Edward to get him a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

"This is a small town. We don't have much crime going on here."

"That's good. I like small towns." Edward opened the bottle and sipped on the water. His eyes fell on the picture of Resha, Bella had placed on her desk.

"Your daughter?" he asked, taking a second sip from his drink.

"Yes, that's my Resha. She's going to turn seven next Saturday." Bella sat down on the table, pushing a pile with old files to the side.

"You're quite young to be the mother of a seven-year-old. But you being a mother explains a lot why you are so affected by these…awful things."

"I'm not affected." Bella snapped. "I'm repulsed in a way I don't have words for it. To think that someone might…someone could do such a thing to my own child…"

Bella found herself swallowing hard, when Edward gently pressed his forefinger against her temple. "You need to stop thinking like a mother. Think like a cop. That's what you are. Right?"

"I'm a mother too." She stated. "But you are right. This affects me more than it probably should." Especially after what Rosalie had told her. In her mind Bella had already come up with several scenarios about how to kill Royce King in the cruelest ways.

Edward nodded his head. "It's alright. If things don't affect us, it means we stopped being human."

Bella swallowed dryly. "Is King still behind bars?"

"For now, he his." Edward sipped on his water again. "I had a rather interesting conversation with Lucy Hale last night."

"About Royce King?" Bella asked. "Don't tell me she wants to bail that fucker out of jail. She can't do that!"

"If she manages to bring up 50.000 bucks, she could. Now, tell me, how well do you know Mrs. Hale?"

Bella sighed. "She's my girlfriend's mother. Lucy is the most arrogant, annoying person I met in my life. Her husband was such a nice, down-to-earth guy. At least that's what my Dad always told me."

Edward's mouth twitched into a half-sided grin. "Your father knew Lucy's husband?"

"They were partners before Jasper was killed." Bella told Edward, gulping down the rest of her new lukewarm coffee. It left an unpleasant bitter aftertaste in her mouth.

"He was killed? By whom?"

"They never managed to find them," Bella said, "I'm reworking his case because I hope to find his killer."

Edward nodded. "Maybe I could try to help you with it. Can you show me the file?"

"Sure, why not." Bella told him. She hesitated to trust Masen. Yet, it was so very obvious he had more experience with capital crimes than she most likely would ever have.

"He was killed by a bullet through his temple. They found a footprint…oh and the ear-ring. It is the reason why I was in Port Angeles at that jewelry store."

Edward murmured something unintelligible. "You think a woman killed him?"

"No, I don't think so." Bella said. "The killer had to be tall, too tall actually for a woman."

Edward flipped through the pages of the folder. "Why do you think, he knew his killer, man or woman, whoever it was?"

"Wouldn't he have defended himself, if someone would have tried to attack him?" Bella asked, leaning forward to read the information in the file, she already knew by heart.

"Maybe they surprised him. Are you sure, it was two people at the crime scene?"

Bella shrugged her shoulders. "Well, the footprint they found obviously belonged to a guy. Then there's the ear-ring."

Edward pulled out one of the Polaroid's and held it up against the light. "This ear-ring doesn't prove there was a woman present."

"You can't know that." Bella stated. "Maybe the killer had a woman with him, a lover maybe or…someone who was there to help him."

"You think a man with a loaded gun needed his girlfriend with him to hold his hand? Oh my, Bella, you really still have a lot to learn about thinking like a police officer."

Bella crossed her arms in front of her chest. She hated how Agent Masen always managed to make her feel like she was completely unprofessional at her job. He was a jerk who hadn't been put in his place for far too long.

"I didn't mean to offend you." Edward said, noticing the frown on Bella's face. "You have good instincts. But you need to think more rationally."

Bella took the Polaroid picture from Edward and turned it around in her hand. "Why would a guy have a pearl-earring with him? That doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe it was supposed to be a gift for his lover. Women do like jewelry, don't they?" Edward asked, flipping through the folder again.

"This is a strange theory." Bella stated. "I'm sure there were two people present at the crime scene."

"You are not sure, Deputy Swan." Edward told her in such an arrogant voice, she felt tempted to run her fingernails down his perfectly clean-shaven chin. Agent Masen was so incredibly sure of himself. It was unbearable.

"Neither are you. Why do you think, Hale's killer was alone? You don't have any proof on that theory."

"Bella, you don't have any evidence for the presence of a second person other than an ear-ring. It doesn't proof anything."

Bella nodded her head. He was right. God, how much she hated that Edward was right. The ear-ring was just an ear-ring.-

"Are you alright, Bella?" Edward whispered, sounding concerned now. "You seem disappointed."

"Because I had a theory and a plan, now I have fucking nothing. Look, this case is important to me. Officer Hale was my girlfriend's father."

"Getting personally involved is never a good idea, Deputy Swan."

"Don't go all smartass on me. I can't stand that." Bella snapped angrily.

Edward closed the folder and handed it back to her. "Do you want me to fuck you?"

"What?" Bella was almost yelling now. "Are you insane? How dare you—"

He laughed. The fucker actually dared to laugh about her. "I wouldn't want you to fuck me, if you and I happened to be the last two people on earth."

Edward laughed some more, the skin around his eyes wrinkling into fine laugh-lines. "See, if you don't want me to be your fuck-buddy…and it's not like I would say no to that chance."

"You're a chauvinistic pig." Bella snarled. "I hate you."

"Save your feelings for someone who cares about them. If you want me to fuck you, I'll be all sweet with you. Otherwise, if you want me to help you with this case, I'll be as hard on you as I see fit."


	40. Chapter 40

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome to a new chapter, my lovely readers. Thanks for your interest in my story here.

Today's update is dedicated to **jm1708** and **number09**

_****39****_

Rosalie opened the little box for another time and sighed deeply. The pearl-earrings were really lovely. But of course, Bella had been right. It was wrong to keep such an expensive gift from Carlisle after breaking off the engagement.

She pressed the doorbell and waited. Maybe she should have better brought the earrings back to the hospital. It was so random that Carlisle spent time at his apartment.

A moment later, the door was pulled open and a small face looked up at Rosalie with huge eyes.

"Hi Senna," Rosalie greeted the little girl. "Is your Mom here with you too?"

"No, she's at the hospital." Carlisle explained, stepping behind Senna. He kneeled down and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Didn't I tell you not to open the door on your own? It could have been a stranger."

Senna sucked her lower lip between her teeth. "But it was Rose."

"But it could have been a stranger." Carlisle responded dropping his attempt to tell his ex-wife's daughter what was wrong or right. He wasn't good with kids. The last days had been exhausting for him. At least Esme was talking to him again, like she didn't hate him anymore. Yesterday when he had visited her with Senna, she had even smiled at him. A smile was a good sign. Wasn't it?

"Esme's in the hospital?" Rose asked, following Carlisle and Senna into the living room. The place was a bit messy. There were toys lying all over the floor and a couple of dirty dishes had been stacked into a pile on the coffee table.

"She had an argument with her boyfriend and ended up with a concussion. Technically, we could have cleared her to go home after the first night. Esme needs rest though. I know, she doesn't get any when she's home."

"My Momma is sick." Senna explained. "Carlisle is my babysitter now. We went to the zoo today."

"That's nice, sweetie." Rose told her. She felt an almost unbearable wave of relief that she had warned Esme about Royce disgusting intentions. Hopefully, they would let the fucker rot in jail for the rest of his life now.

"I drew a picture of a car." Little Senna stated. "Do you want to see it?"

Rosalie nodded and Senna jogged up the stairs. "She's a dear girl." Rose stated.

Carlisle groaned. "Senna's a handful. I honestly didn't know how much work a child makes. How Esme manages to handle the girl and her job on top of it, it's beyond me."

Rosalie smiled. "I think mothers are pretty good at multitasking."

Carlisle nodded his head. "You could be right about that."

Rose pulled out the box with the earrings and handed it to Carlisle. "I'm sorry. I can't keep the pearls."

His forehead wrinkled. "Are you trying to insult me? That was a present."

"I know." Rosalie responded. "It was a very beautiful and gracious gift, but I can't keep it now that we broke off the engagement."

"I can't take the earrings back." Carlisle stated. "That would really hurt my pride."

Senna rushed back inside the living room, hopping on the couch right next to Rosalie. "See? I made the car red because red's my favorite color. What color do you like?"

"I like blue and purple. This is a pretty drawing." Rose told Senna, placing the drawing on the coffee table.

"It's for my Momma." Senna told Rose. "I can make you another one, if you want me to."

"I'd love that." Rosalie mumbled, leaning back against the cushions of the couch.

Carlisle took the box with the earrings and shoved them into the pocket of his vest. "I need to make a couple of calls. Could you watch Senna for a few minutes? Thank you, Ki— I mean Rosalie."

"Sure, why not." Rosalie said, her mouth curling into a smile again. "You and I will get along fine. Won't we, Senna?"

Carlisle went upstairs and for a minute, Rosalie watched how Senna started playing with two of her Barbie dolls.

Then the little girl looked up at Rose and said. "Rose, is Carlisle going to be my Daddy now?"

Rosalie didn't know what to tell Senna. The relationship between Esme and Carlisle was so tensed. Maybe, him helping her to take care of Senna would change things though. It was so wrong when two people that so obviously belonged together, couldn't work things out.

"Not my real Daddy of course." Senna explained. "My real Daddy is in Africa. But he could marry my Momma and be my new Daddy, right?"

Rose wrapped her arm around Senna's shoulder. "Would you like that, sweetie?"

Senna nodded eagerly. "So much, I never had a Daddy before."

Rosalie leaned over and whispered into the girl's ear. "You need to tell your Mom. If you want Carlisle to become your Daddy, you need to ask your mother about it."

xxxx

Alice Brandon had never given much thought about how it would be like to be a mother. She felt too young, too carefree to actually take on the responsibility for a baby. Her unplanned pregnancy was forcing her to grow up faster than she was willing to do it.

"Are you alright, little dove?" Zafrina asked her, squeezing Alice's hand to encourage the girl. "You're not nervous about the check-up, are you?"

Alice shook her head. She was so glad that she had Zafrina here with her. A nurse called Alice's name and a few minutes later she found herself sitting on her OB/GYN's chair, wearing a ridiculous nothing of a paper gown.

"How's it going, Miss Brandon?" the doctor asked her, his voice sounding a bit too cheerful to the women. "Is the morning sickness better now?"

"Yes, doctor, but I'm always hungry now." Alice confessed. "The baby is a little carnivore that keeps forcing me to eat steaks every day."

"There is nothing wrong with eating what you like, Miss Brandon." The doctor stated, pressing his stethoscope against Alice's abdomen. "Now let's see how the baby's doing."

When he was done examining Alice, Zafrina cleared her throat. "Dr. Banner, why don't you explain to me what vitamins she needs to take? I'll make sure she doesn't forget them."

Alice frowned. She hated taking pills. Alice knew she was bad at remembering taking the vitamin pills, the doctor had prescribed her. Now, Zafrina would hover over her like a mother hen. Maybe, she should just give the baby to Zafrina and ask her to raise the child for her. She would most likely make a better job at it than herself.

An unpleasant feeling of frustration began to fill Alice's heart. She climbed from the chair and went to the room next door, to get dressed again. When she was just about to squeeze her feet into her suddenly too small seeming heels, her phone beeped with a new message.

How's your day going, midget? I think of you. Em.

She rolled her eyes and typed a quick reply.

Midget? Is this supposed to be nicer than dwarf? Let me give you a hint. It's NOT.

His answer came a minute later.

I'm sorry. Was trying to be funny, but it never works with you. Still up for dinner on Friday?

Alice sighed and decided to call Emmett back instead of texting him again. When he picked up, he yelled so loudly, that it hurt Alice's ears. "Run you fucking losers! Dear Christ, run! God, you are a bunch of fucked up losers!"

"Emmet?"

"Oh hi, Alice, I'm sorry for yelling. I'm at work now. God, this place sucks badly."

"It's not the fault of those poor kids, that you hate your job." Alice stated. "How about being a bit nicer to them?"

He chuckled. "I'm saving all my nice for you. How's your day been so far?"

"So so," Alice mumbled. "Do you know that feeling when someone else is much better at a job that is supposed to be yours?"

"In a way," Emmett said. "I don't like that you sound so sad right now. It's not because of the midget comment, is it?"

"No, it's not." Alice whispered. "I just suck. I mean I suck at being an adult. It's so difficult."

"You are more of an adult than me. I don't think there's any reason for you to worry."

Alice's throat felt painfully tight. She swallowed back a sob and mumbled a quick goodbye to Emmett before she disconnected the call.

"There you are my little dove." Zafrina called out, entering the room. "What's with your shoes? Don't they fit anymore?"

"I make them fit." Alice murmured, trying to ignore the unpleasant burn at the side of her feet when she started walking down the corridor.

Outside of the hospital building she limped towards a bench and burst into tears.

"Alice, honey, why are you crying now?"

"Because I hate being pregnant. Those heels are my favorite. Now I have feet like a baby whale! I'm going to suck at being a mother. I know I will suck!"

Zafrina pulled the dainty girl against her chest and rubbed Alice's back in smooth circles. "No, you won't suck. You are going to be a good mom. I know, you'll be."

"Are you sure?" Alice sobbed. She sniffed a couple of times until Zafrina pulled out a tissue and made her blow her nose. "I love you, Mammy."

"I love you too, sweetie, more than words can say. I'm so glad I get to stay here to take care of you for a while."

"We need to tell Dad, I'm pregnant. He's going to freak."

"You know how your father is like. At first he's going to yell but then he's going to be the proudest grandfather the world has ever seen."

Alice's cell started ringing and when she fished it out of her handbag, Zafrina caught a glimpse of Emmett's picture flashing over the screen. He had already hung up before Alice managed to take the call.

"Is that the baby's father?" Zafrina asked curiously. "He's a bit tall for you."

"I like tall guys." Alice stated. "But Emmett is not the baby's father. We're just friends."

"Your face turns red when someone who's just a friend calls you? I don't believe that."

Alice could feel the heat streaming into her cheeks, making them glow. "He's just a friend."

"If you say so Alice, if you say so. Now, if Mr. Too-Tall isn't the baby's Daddy. Who is it?"

"I don't know." Alice lied, starting down at her swollen feet in the too tight shoes. "It was a one-night-stand." She mumbled, hoping that she would never have to look into James' grinning face again. How could she have ever fallen for this self-absorbed asshole? She was stupid. Being stupid wasn't exactly going to help her raise the little troublemaker under her heart.

"So, a one night stand it was. Good to know." Zafrina stated, pulling out a bottle with vitamin pills. "Take two of them right now. Folic acid is important for embryos."

Alice swallowed the pills and leaned her head against Zafrina's shoulder. "I'm so glad that you are here with me, Mammy. You're a better mother than I could ever be. Do you remember how I used to ask Dad to marry you, so you'd be my real mom? That was silly, wasn't it?"

Zafrina's fingertips stroked gently over Alice's hair. "You were a dear child. I loved raising you."

Alice sighed and pushed the uncomfortable shoes down her feet. "Zafrina? Maybe, I do like Emmett a bit more than like a friend." She confessed, sounding almost shy. "But the timing for falling in love is pretty bad right now, isn't it?"

Zafrina pulled a pair of flip-flops out of her handbag and handed them to Alice. The girl frowned. But then she put the flip-flops on without hesitation.

"Much better like this, isn't it? Listen to me, little dove. Love is not something that doesn't consider our plans. Love just happens and when it comes to you, you need to hold on to it as much as you can."


	41. Chapter 41

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for all your lovely reviews. I had a pretty awful week and reading your nice comments really helped me a lot to feel better.

Today's update is dedicated to **HomeByTwilight**. I hope you'll enjoy

_****40****_

"Is it going to hurt badly?" Resha asked, her eyes widening with fear. Yes, she did want to wear pretty earrings, just like Rose. Getting her ears pierced was something she was a little bit scared of, though.

"It doesn't hurt." Rosalie lied. She didn't want to worry the girl unnecessarily. "I can hold your hand, if you want me to."

"Yes, please." The girl mumbled, reaching her hand out to Rose. They entered the small jewelry store and took a look at the silver earrings in the dusty glass cabinet.

"Those are pretty. Don't you think?" Rose asked, pointing at a pair of heart-shaped earrings.

Resha shook her head. "I like the ones with the little stars." She stated. "Can I get these?"

Rose brushed her fingertips gently over Resha's head. "Sure, sweetie, you'll get them."

"Found something nice?" The shop assistant purred overly sweet. "Can I help you, Miss?"

Rosalie cleared her throat. "We'd like to get her ears pierced. Can you do that here in the shop?"

He nodded his head. Then, he pointed to a chair in the corner of the shop.

"Hold my hand, sweetie." Rose instructed. "Look at me, not him."

The girl winced when the shop assistant sprayed some icy disinfectant on her left ear. She cramped her fingers into Rosalie's palm. Sharp pain rushed through her earlobe, but before she could manage to cry out, it was already over.

"Great." Rose praised. "You're doing great, honey, now the other side."

The shop assistant was just about to pierce Resha's second ear when the phone on his counter started ringing.

"I'm sorry." He apologized. "But this is my boss calling." When he picked up the phone, his voice turned into a high-pitched tremble. "Good evening, Mr. Volturi."

Beads of sweat started to appear on the man's forehead. He mumbled something unintelligible while he chewed on his upper lip. "No, Mr. Volturi. I'm sorry, Mr. Volturi. Can't we just try to get rid of him? If he starts singing, we're all screwed. Aren't we? Yes, I can do that. Thank you, Mr. Volturi. Good bye."

A deep sigh left the man's mouth. He wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt.

"I'm sorry about the interruption. Now, let's get your other ear done. Shall we?"

xxxxx

Half an hour later, when Rosalie and Resha met with Bella at an IHOP, the girl proudly presented her freshly pierced ears to her mother.

"I didn't even cry." She announced. "Right, Rose?"

"She was very brave." Rose said, sitting down next to Bella. She leaned over and planted a kiss on her girlfriend's mouth. "Hmm," she whispered. "Whipped cream and strawberries, delicious."

"Can we order some pancakes with blueberries?" Resha asked. "Mom, we need to hurry up with eating. Baby T. is already waiting for me to come and pick him up."

Bella sipped on her hot chocolate. "We'll get your cat tomorrow." She promised. "The animal shelter will already be closed when we get home from Port Angeles."

Resha frowned. "But I want to pick him up today."

"Don't make such a face now." Bella scolded. "I can't stand when you do that."

"You're always mean to me." The girl screeched, her eyes filling with tears. "I like Rose better as my Mom than you."

"Resha, I warn you." Bella snapped, when her daughter jumped from her chair and stormed off towards the restrooms.

"Hey," Rose whispered, placing her hand on top of Bella's. "Breath. There is no need to ruin this day by starting a fight now."

Bella sighed. "I know. Why do I always have to be the bad parent?"

Rose took Bella's hand in hers and lifted it to her lips to blow a kiss over Bella's knuckles. "You are not a bad parent. Stop doubting yourself."

"You don't know, how it's like." Bella mumbled. "Tyler, this selfish prick isn't going to come to her birthday party tomorrow. You can guess whom Resha is going to blame for that. Sure as hell not her perfect Daddy. Fuck my life!"

"Hey, it's okay." Rosalie whispered, caressing Bella's hand with her fingertips. "It's okay. You're doing what you can. I'm sure Resha knows that."

The girl returned from the restroom. She snuggled her head against Bella's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mommy."

"It's okay, sweetie. Please, stop, fumbling around on your ears. We don't want them to get infected."

"The man in the shop gave us some spray." The girl explained. "Rose has it in her handbag."

"Right," Rosalie mumbled, pulling out the small plastic bag. "Here it is."

Bella took the bag from Rose. "Volturi Jewellry?"

"Oh yes, that's where we went to get her ears pierced. It's the same shop Mom took me to when I got my own ears pierced. It was a much nicer shop back then."

xxxx

Bella closed her eyes and moaned softly while Rose let her lips glide down her neck.

"This feels good." She whispered. "God, I missed you so much."

She turned around, carefully making sure not to get any cake mixture on Rosalie's shirt when she hugged her.

"I missed you too. Every night I thought about you, about us."

Tingles went down Bella's spine. She circled her dough covered fingertip gently over Rosalie's mouth. "Sweet enough?"

"Let me try some more." Rosalie mumbled, licking her lips. She wrapped her hand around Bella's wrist and slowly licked off the creamy dough. "I like the dough better than the actual cake. Isn't that strange?"

"We all have our different likings. Now, let's get this cake into the oven before Resha ends up without a birthday cake."

"We can't risk that to happen. Why isn't Tyler coming here again?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "He told me that he had to work, like I would buy such an excuse. I bet he's just screwing around with this slut."

Rosalie filled the dough into the cake pan. "You still have feelings for him."

"No, I don't." Bella stated. "It's just pissing me off, like he can't act like an adult for fucks sake."

"Tyler's a jerk." Rose stated. "Let's not talk about him now. We have so little alone time together."

"You're right. " Bella whispered. "Let's wait in the living room until the cake is ready."

They snuggled up on the couch, wrapping a blanket around them. "Are you alright?" Bella asked. "I mean, because of the things you told me last weekend."

She could feel Rosalie tensing in her arms. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"We have to." Bella stated. "And you have to press charges against Royce."

"Don't tell me what to do." Rose snarled in a harsh tone. "I want to forget about what he did to me. Can't you at least try to understand that?"

Bella tightened her hold around Rosalie's shoulder. "I love you. I hate this monster so much for what he did to you."

"I know." Rosalie whispered. "I hate him too. There is nothing I want more than for Royce to rot in a windowless cell for the rest of his days."

Bella reached for Rosalie's hand and gave it a gentle tug. "Then, you need to press charges. I can come with you, if you want me to."

Rosalie stared down at the coffee table in front of them. "What if they don't believe me? I can't endure the thought of having to talk to some random officer about…the things Royce did to me."

Bella squeezed Rose's hand. "Of course, the police are going to believe you. Nobody would lie about something that horrible. Like I said before, I'll come with you. You wouldn't be alone."

Rose leaned back against the cushions of the couch and sighed. "I'm scared they won't believe me. My own mother didn't believe me. So, why should anyone else?"

Something inside of Bella cracked. It was like she had suddenly lost her faith in mankind's goodness. "Lucy knows? She knows, he molested you and didn't do anything?"

A bitter laughter left Rosalie's throat. "Sure, she knows. I told her. I told her, I didn't want to go to his house again." Rose swallowed hard. "She said I made it up. That I had only imagined the things he did to me. It made me feel like everything was my fault."

Bella hugged Rosalie tightly against her chest. "It's not your fault. God, I'm so mad at your mother. You should press charges against her too for not helping you."

"I can't do that." Rose whispered. "Can we please stop talking about this now?"

Bella inhaled sharply through her teeth, once, twice and even a third and fourth time. She was going to kill Lucy. It was a mother's job to keep her child safe. Lucy had failed this job in every possible way.

xxxx

Cowering on the bed in his cell, Royce was chewing on his fingernails. He was about to lose it. If Lucy, this hooker, wasn't going to bail him out soon, he was going to turn insane.

Things didn't look good for him. The lawyer, he had hired, had made that much clear to him. The pictures, Esme Culled had handed over to the police, would be used as evidence in court.

If he had only remembered wearing gloves while he had handled them! There was another thing, Royce was afraid about. Maybe he was even more worried about this than about the risk of going to jail for several years.

The Volturi would make his life a complete misery, should the morons from the police find out they were involved in a child pornography ring. Aro was the most unscrupulous person Royce had ever met in his life. That man would sell his own soul, if the devil would offer him enough money for it.

"The good money is always in the forbidden things." Aro had told Royce on one of the random occasions, the two of them had met in person.

It was then, in Aro Volturi's marble-floored office, that Royce had discovered a very familiar face in a folder. Yes, the Volturi preferred to organize their dirty businesses with the sense of order of a nerdy bookkeeper. They had catalogues filled with every girl that ever worked for their organization.

Royce had been puzzled to discover that snob-nosed Lucy Hale had been offering her young body out on the streets. Well, pride goes before a fall, or how they say.

It was Royce's only hope that Lucy's fear of someone finding out about her dark past would be big enough. The Volturi had made it clear, that there was no way they were going to bail his ass out of jail. They wouldn't risk, the police discovering a connection between them and a suspected pedophile.

The iron door of Royce's cell squeaked when it was pulled open. Instantly Royce straightened his back.

"Company for you, Mr. King." The guard informed him. "Platt, I assume you are going to behave, won't you?"

"Sure, sure." The man mumbled. He was huge, the muscles of his impressive biceps pressing against the sleeves of his shirt. "We'll be great buddies."

The guard told the men goodbye and walked out, locking the door behind him.

Royce cleared his throat. "H-hi, I'm Ro-o-oyce." He held out his hand, trying his hardest not keep it from trembling like a leaf in a storm.

Platt spit out on the ground. "I couldn't care less about what's your name, bitch."

Fear prickled down Royce's spine. He was about two heads smaller than the moody giant in front of him. The thought of having to spend the next days in a small room with Platt, seemed frightening.

"Get your ass from my bed now. I always take the one at the window."

"But that's mine." Royce protested in a low voice.

"You are new and a nobody in here." Platt stated, pushing Royce from the bed with so much force that he lost his balance and landed flat on his face.

He whimpered, when he felt Platt's boot against his neck. "Let me introduce myself to you." he said. "My name is Felix. You, little fucker are my bitch now."


	42. Chapter 42

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Can I get a hug? I really need one right now.

Today's update is dedicated to the Alice and Emmett cheerleaders among you. I never thought I could make that pairing work, but it was so worth it give it a try.

_****41****_

Alice looked up at the waitress and cleared her throat. "I'll have the T-Bone steak, medium cooked with fries…and some broccoli to go with it."

"Excellent choice," Emmett approved, smirking sheepishly. "I'll take the same, apart from this vegetable crap."

The waitress granted him a wide smile and walked off, wiggling her backside a bit too much for it to be unintentionally.

"Nice ass, don't you think?" Alice said, lifting her glass of water to her mouth. She felt a wave of jealousy spreading through her. If she had only been able to squeeze her swollen feet into her high heels, she thought. The heels made her too-short legs look way sexier.

"I wasn't watching." Emmett tried to defend himself. "She's not even pretty."

Alice rolled her fingertip over the edge of her glass. "How can you know that when you didn't watch her?"

Emmett took a gulp from his wine. Great, now Alice was mad at him. Women were so incredibly stupid sometimes.

He reached out his hand and placed it very lightly on hers. "I'm here with you."

Alice's mouth twitched. "I'm very glad about that. Congratulations on your new job by the way. I know you wanted it."

"A job is just a job." Emmett stated. "Tell me why you want to be a shrink. A pretty girl like you should be doing some fashion stuff or something like that."

Alice sighed, enjoying how Emmett continued circling his thumb over the back of her hand. Her fingers were swollen too. It was unpleasant but according to her doctor perfectly normal during a pregnancy.

"There's a reason." She told him. "But it's a sad story."

"Kay," he mumbled, letting his fingers move higher on her forearm. How did she manage it to keep her skin that smooth? It felt soft like silk against his fingertips.

"There was a girl at my middle school back home in Biloxi. Her…stepfather…he used to …abuse her. She killed herself."

"Oh my God, that's just horrible. I hope they locked that fucker up."

"That wouldn't bring her back, would it? Well, the thing is Bree left a note, claiming that nobody would have believed her and that she had nobody to talk to. See, that's the reason why I want to be a shrink."

"I bet you're going to be a good shrink." Emmett said, nipping on his wine again. "Even, if I don't like people that try to fuck with others head."

Alice laughed. "You are full of prejudices. Have you ever been to a psychologist's office?"

Emmett nodded his head. "Yes, once, after my Dad died. She made me drew my family as animals. It was kind of weird."

Alice reached for the bread sticks on the table and dipped it into a bit of butter. "God, I'm starving." Her stomach rumbled.

"You have quite a big appetite for such a dainty girl like you are." Emmett said. "I like that in you."

Yes, Alice thought. I'm going to look like a baby whale before the little troublemaker is born. Automatically her hand moved down to her abdomen. The babydoll dress she was wearing tonight managed to hide the tiny bump perfectly.

Their food arrived and Alice ended up eating her own portion, plus the garlic bread from Emmett's plate.

"Do you miss playing Football?" she asked him, licking a bit of bread crumbles from her fingers.

"It's the only thing I've ever been good at. So, I guess the answer is, yes."

"You're good at a lot of things." Alice whispered. "And I've seen you play. It wasn't that great."

"You know shit about Football. But maybe you're right. I didn't even want to play professionally. It was my Dad's dream. At least that's what my mother told me. I wanted to be a cop like him, but Mom made a hysterical scene when I came up with the idea."

"I see." Alice mumbled. "Sometimes it's difficult to live up to our parents' expectations."

They finished their meal. The entire time Emmett had to resist the urge to reach his hand under the table to cup Alice's knee. He had never been out with a woman he liked as much as her. It was weird and made him feel incredibly nervous.

Outside on the parking lot, when he opened the passenger's door of the car for her, he couldn't hold back any longer. His arms closed around Alice's tiny waist and his lips found hers in an open-mouthed kiss.

She moaned. She fucking moaned into his mouth when he somehow managed to maneuver her inside the car and close the door behind them.

Alice climbed on his lap and straddled him. Heat flashed through her entire body. He wanted her. She could feel his erection pressing against her backside.

"We need to stop." He groaned, burying his face between her small breasts. "Or I'm going to take you right here in the car."

Alice fisted her fingers through his short curls. "I never had sex in a car before."

Emmett kissed her again, letting his hand glide down her sides until he could cup her ass firmly. "You're one crazy pixie. I like that."

He fumbled for his wallet, pulling out a silver-foil packed condom. "Always better to be prepared."

"We don't need that." Alice whispered, kissing down his jaw. "I don't like the little fuckers anyway. They smell yucky."

"Are you on the pill?" Emmett asked, moving his hand under the fabric of Alice's dress to caress her thighs.

"No," Alice moaned. She started unbuttoning the buttons of Emmett's shirt. "I'm not on the pill."

"Do you have one of those loop thingies?"

She chuckled. "No, but maybe I should have gotten one of those. If I had, I wouldn't be pregnant now."

His hands dropped from her body, as if his fingers had suddenly been burned. "PREGNANT?"

Alice swallowed hard. Crap, now he wouldn't want her anymore. Of course, he wouldn't want her anymore. She was making a fool out of herself. With trembling knees, she jumped from his lap and stumbled over the parking lot. When she had reached its end, tears were burning in her eyes.

"Wait." Emmett called from behind her. She could feel him wrapping his broad arms around her, turning her around, so that she had to look up at him.

"If you run like this and fall down, it will be dangerous for the baby."

"Who cares?" she sobbed. "I'm going to be a lousy mother anyway. Just leave me alone. I'm going to take the bus home."

He pulled back from their embrace. "The next bus is coming up in four hours. I won't let you out here on your own, while you're being hysterical like this."

"I'm not hysterical." Alice sniffed, wiping her nose at the back of her hand. "I like you. But I know you wouldn't want me anymore once I told you about the baby."

Emmett reached out his hand and wiped a bit of smeared mascara from Alice's cheek. "Do you want to get back together with the asshole that knocked you up?"

Alice shook her head. "No, I don't want James back. He doesn't love me."

Her feet started aching. How could flat shoes be so awfully uncomfortable? She sat down at the curb and slipped off her ballet flats.

Emmett said down next to her. "You know, I like you, right?"

Alice bent forward to rub her swollen ankles. "I like you too. But this is a shitty time to fall in love, isn't it?"

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek. "I don't like you less because you're pregnant."

"Really?" she asked, turning her head to rest it against his shoulder. "You still want me?"

"Always," he whispered, kissing her mouth tenderly. "You're special. I don't want anyone else to steal you away from me."

Alice whimpered when Emmett pulled her on top of him. "What about the baby? It's not yours."

"Well, that's not something we can change, right? You're going to let me make our next ones myself. Will you?"

Alice giggled. Her fingertips stroked down Emmett's clean shaven chin. "Next ones?"

He nodded his head. "Sure. I want at least five kids. Six would be better."

"You're insane." Alice protested. "Who wants that many children? Three at the most, that's my last word."

"This discussion is not over yet, Miss Brandon." Emmett stated, lifting her up to carry her back to his car. "But I have enough time to convince you. Haven't I?"

xxxx

Rosalie pressed her nose against Bella's wavy hair. "You smell like chocolate cake."

"I know." Bella yawned. "But I'm too tired to go and wash my hair now."

She snugged against Rosalie's warm body under the blanket. "The cake turned out fine, didn't it?"

"It's perfect." Rose assured her. "Resha is going to love it."

Bella reached for her alarm clock. "I need to get up early to pick up the kitten. Do you want to come with me or sleep in?"

"I'll come with you. Now, lean back and let me massage your neck. You need to relax a bit."

Bella nodded her head. She closed her eyes and leaned back against Rosalie. "I love you."

"I love you too. Did I tell you I have an appointment at this modeling agency on Monday? It's for some jewelry advertising."

She started kneading the tensed muscles in Bella's shoulders. "If I get the job, I'll be able to quit at Uley's and move down here. Isn't that great?"

"It's fantastic." Bella said. "I don't like the idea of you modeling, though. I know how much you hate it."

Rosalie sighed and leaned over to plant a kiss underneath Bella's earlobe. "I'm doing it for us. That makes it worth it."

Bella turned her head and kissed Rosalie's soft lips. "We're going to be together forever. Won't we?"

"Forever," Rosalie whispered. "You mean even, when we're like old and wrinkled?"

"I will probably get deaf when I get older. Both of my grandparents ended up with hearing devices."

Rosalie laughed. "At least then my snoring isn't going to bother you anymore." She kissed Bella again. "Oh Bella, I love you so much. I never thought it could be possible to feel that much without bursting into a million pieces."

Bella's tongue slipped between Rosalie's lips. Her hands moved down the Blonde's side, until they reached the woman's breasts.

"I want you." She mumbled letting her thumb brush over Rosalie's nipple until it pebbled under her caress. Bella pushed Rosalie back against the pillows.

"Should I tie you up, like you've done it with me the last time?" she asked, brushing her nose down Rosalie's stomach.

"No," Rosalie whispered, swallowing with a sigh. "I want to touch you too."

She reached for the hem of Bella's shirt and pulled it over her lover's head, repeating the same with the top she was wearing.

Bella whimpered, when she felt Rosalie's thigh pressing between her legs. The friction felt amazing against her lace covered sex.

"This feels good." She moaned, wiggling her hips back and forth to get Rosalie even closer. "Can we try this without anything between us?"

"Yes, please." Rosalie whispered, closing her eyes as Bella pulled down her thong. She could feel that she was already wet and swollen. Her body craved Bella's touch so very much.

When Bella's hand grabbed her hips and turned her to the side, Rosalie sighed deeply. It felt divine when Bella slowly lowered her body between Rosalie's parted thighs, letting her throbbing clit rub against Rosalie's moist folds. Their bodies rocked against each other. Awkwardly at first, until they managed to find the right rhythm. Bella could feel the beginning spasms of her climax beginning to pool in the pit of her stomach. She pressed her lips together to suffocate her groans.

"So close," Rosalie whimpered. "You're going to make me come so hard. Oh yes, Bella."

Rosalie's clit pulsed against Bella's inner lips. She shuddered and thrust her hips back and forth a couple of times until Bella felt the sweetest wave of release spreading through her body.

"I love you, Beautiful." Bella panted, pulling Rosalie tightly against her chest. "I will always love you. Nothing will ever come between us."


	43. Chapter 43

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for the hugs and the lovely reviews. I'm grateful to have such supportive readers like you. You make me feel loved. Thank you.

Today's update is dedicated to **CrimeSceneLover3** and **Alexis99**

_****42****_

Now, make your wish and blow the candles." Bella instructed, placing her arms around her daughter's shoulder.

The girl closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and blew out the pink candles on the chocolate cake.

"What did you wish for?" Senna asked curiously, while she nibbled on her thumb. She felt intimidated. There were so many people here. Senna didn't like it. Maybe she should have asked her mother to stay here instead of going for a walk with Carlisle. Last night when she had went to the bathroom, she had heard them giggling in her mother's bedroom. It was all very confusing for poor little Senna.

"She can't tell." Jessie snapped. "Birthday wishes need to stay a secret. Don't you know that? You're a stupid baby."

Resha crossed her arms in front of her chest. "She's my friend, not a baby. I can tell her, if I want to. It's _my_ wish." She stated sullenly. "Senna, I'll tell you later when Jessie goes home." Resha granted the smaller girl a wide smile.

Bella sighed. "No need to start fighting now. Honey, you and your friends can have cake and then you can play a bit outside."

"Yes, Mom. I love chocolate cake." Resha mumbled, licking a bit of frosting from her fingers. "Can Baby T. have cake too?" she asked.

"No! You're only to feed him the dry food under the sink."

Resha leaned down and lifted the kitten up on her lap. "I'm sorry. She said no."

"Resha, I mean it. If you give him cake, the kitten is going to get sick."

The girl nodded her head. She let her fingertips glide over the cat's back until the tiny being purred loudly. Then he turned his head and snapped at her wrist.

"Ouch! Why are you biting me? Mom, he bit me!"

"Let me see. It's just a scratch. You need to be careful. Sometimes cats bite."

Bella walked out and plopped down on the couch next to her mother. Whenever Renee was around, Bella felt awkward somehow. It was like Renee was living in a completely different world. This time she had shown up here with a man who was young enough to be Bella's older brother. Crap, was Renee going through some midlife crisis.

Charlie who was sitting across from them was glaring at his ex-wife's young boyfriend like he was a disgusting insect that needed to be removed immediately. It was so very obvious that he had never truly gotten over his flighty ex-wife.

"The Barbie house you brought for Resha is pretty." Rose stated, trying to break the awkward silence with some small talk. "Isn't it pretty, Bella? I had a Barbie house too. You never wanted to play with it."

"Yes, the Barbie house is nice." Bella mumbled. "But Mom, you shouldn't have spent that much money."

Renee tapped her hands against her chest. "I would do anything for my only grandchild. It's such a shame I don't get to see her often."

Charlie's eyes narrowed. "Well, maybe someone shouldn't have moved to fucking Florida then."

Renee's mouth twitched into a dreamy smile. "The sun is better for my Chakra. Isn't it, Phil?"

"Whatever." Charlie said, standing up from his seat. "Bells, I'm off to the station now. There's a ton of paper work waiting for me to get finished."

Bella had to bit her tongue. Yes, sure. The only person at the police department that did paper work was her. Charlie was just looking for an excuse to get away from his ex-wife. It was pathetic how after all these years, her parents still couldn't treat each other like two civilized adults.

Frustrated, she murmured an excuse about having to change her blouse and went upstairs. Rosalie followed her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Breathe." Rose whispered. "Renee is only here for one day."

"It's better that way. God, that jerk she brought with him. I can't stand him."

Rose planted a kiss on Bella's cheek. "It's okay. You don't need to like Phil. Renee seems happy, though."

"Maybe her Chakra is in the right house now or whatever. Jeez, I just want this day to be over."

Rosalie pushed Bella towards the bed. "You need to relax. Try to think of tonight and the lovely things you and I are going to do then."

"You're a tease." Bella whispered, cupping Rosalie's backside in her hands. "I love you."

"I love you too." Rosalie responded. She leaned down to plant a kiss on Bella's mouth when the sound of the doorbell interrupted their tender moment.

They went downstairs again and Bella opened the door. She barely managed to hold back a frown from her face when Resha's other grandmother waved her hand at her.

"Hello, Isabella." Kadesha greeted her coldly. "Is my little birthday angel around?"

"Sure, she is." Bella said. "Resha! Your Nana is here!" Then she cleared her throat. "You should have brought your useless son with you. She's disappointed that he won't come."

Kadesha rolled her eyes at Bella. "Tyler is working. He got this new job as a dispatch rider. Didn't he tell you about that?"

Bella shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe Tyler mentioned it. Well, if he has a job now, he could start eventually paying child— oh there you are, honey. Resha, tell your Grandmother thank you for bringing you a present."

Resha wrapped her arms around her grandmother. "Hi, Nana, where's Daddy?"

Kadesha kneeled down to be face to face with the girl. "He's very sorry, but he had to work. Here's your present, sweetie."

The girl un-wrapped the silver ribbon from the box and opened it up. "It's not the Rapunzel Barbie that I wanted." She stated full of disappointment.

"But this one is much better." Kadesha tried to convince Resha. "Tiana is so beautiful. Just look at her pretty tiara."

"She's not Rapunzel. I like Rapunzel the best. She's the prettiest and she sings well too."

Bella took a deep breathe. "Honey, tell your grandmother thank you for the doll. We get you the Rapunzel Barbie for Christmas. I promise."

"Thank you, Nana." Resha mumbled. "Do you want to see my kitten? His name is Baby T., like Baby Tiger, because he looks like a little tiger."

xxxx

"You look exhausted." Rosalie stated, taking a worried look at her girlfriend next to her. She pulled the key out of the ignition and turned over to Bella. "But I think the little one liked her party."

"That's good." Bella mumbled, stretching her legs. "I want her to be happy."

They stepped out of the car and Rosalie pulled Bella close against her side. "Now, isn't Emmett's place nice from the outside? I'd like to live here with you."

Bella kissed Rosalie's mouth. "Let's see. I think that it's not going to be big enough for the three of us and the mini tiger."

Rosalie shook her head. She could already picture herself living here with Bella. The thought filled her heart with a wave of love and warmth.

With a smile on her face, she pressed the doorbell.

"That's probably our pizza!" a light voice called from inside, pulling the front door open.

The moment Alice looked up at Rosalie, her face turned crimson red. She pulled nervously around on the hem of Emmett's shirt she was wearing, although it was big enough to cover her up to her knees.

"Ahm, hi." The raven-haired girl stuttered. "You're not the pizza guy."

Bella and Rosalie burst into laughter. "No, we're not. Sorry to disappoint you. Is my brother here too?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes when Emmett walked up, covered only with a towel around his hips. "Oh, hi, sis." He greeted them, wrapping his arms around Alice from behind. "Hello, Bella."

"Emmett, why are you naked?" Rosalie asked. "You knew we were coming to take a look at the apartment and measure stuff out."

He shrugged his shoulders. "That was today? I'm sorry. I was kind of distracted."

Alice giggled. "I think that's my fault."

"Sure it is, Babe. Sure, it is." He lifted her up, pressing his lips passionately against hers.

Then he placed her down on the ground again and walked back inside the apartment, disappearing in his bedroom.

The girls went to sit on the couch. Rosalie sighed, when she had to push a pile of dirty laundry from it. Her brother was a pig. They would need hours to clean the place before it was ready for them to move in.

"So… you and Emmett?" Bella asked Alice. "Are you together now?"

Alice nodded her head and blushed again. "Yes, we are. It's all pretty new. He's such a cute guy. Like my very own big teddy bear." She said dreamily. "Oh and he's such an awesome kisser and—"

"And this is enough information." Rosalie interrupted her. She reached for Alice's hand and squeezed it lightly. "I'm happy for you two. You are good for Emmett."

Emmett returned. Now dressed in a pair of jeans and a black shirt. "Babe, are the dykes being nice to you?"

"We still have names, asshole." Rosalie snapped. "You need to clean this place. It's filthy. Alice, tell him. Maybe, he'll listen to you."

Alice pulled her knees up and tugged around on the shirt. "Emmett, this place is a dumpster."

He smirked. "You didn't mind that last night."

"Yes, because we spent most of the time on your bed. That _was_ clean."

Emmett exhaled in a dramatic gesture. "Fine, I'll clean up tomorrow after school. Now, let's take you ladies for the grand tour through this palace."

Bella took Rosalie's hand and followed Emmett upstairs. "This is the bedroom." He told them. "It's small but, when you don't need an extra big bed. It should do fine."

He pulled another door open. "That's my playroom. You could turn it into Resha's room."

Rosalie took a quick look at the Xbox, punching ball and the gigantic flat screen. "Does Alice know she's dating a mentally twelve-year-old? A playroom? Seriously?"

"You're annoying." Emmett stated. "Bella, how can you endure my sister?"

Bella laughed. She leaned over and planted a kiss on Rosalie's cheek. "It helps a lot that I love her."

"I love you too." Rosalie whispered. "Do you like the apartment?" She asked. "You need to imagine it without Emmett's crap lying around everywhere."

Bella's hand moved over the stair rail. "I think it will be perfect for us."

"Oh, Bella, that's so great!" Rosalie called out. "Emmett, how fast can you move out?"

He chuckled. "As soon as the school year is over." He said. "I'm going to try find a new place for Alice, myself and—"

"Emmett!" Alice called from downstairs. "Your brother is on the phone. It's the fifth time he's calling. Maybe you should call back?"

Emmett snorted. "Jazz is a pussy. I bet he's not going to take it well, that Alice and I are dating now."

Rosalie shook her head. "He'll get around. I feel bad for him. It was difficult for him to come out to Mom. You know how she's like."

Bella sighed. Yes, they still needed to tell Lucy about their relationship. But even more important, she needed to have a serious conversation with that woman about how Lucy had been ignoring her daughter's abuse.

Back downstairs, Emmett reached for the phone and dialed Jasper's cell. He sobbed loudly into the receiver when he picked up. "Emmett? Oh, thank God, I finally reached you. Do you know where Rose is? She's not answering her phone."

"She's with me. Crap, are you crying? You really are gay, aren't you?"

Jasper sniffed. Emmett could hear him blowing his nose. "What the hell is wrong with you? Did lover boy leave your sorry ass? Peter's a smart guy."

"Shut the fuck up." Jasper sobbed. "Just shut the fuck up once in your fucking life."

Rosalie grabbed the phone from Emmett. "Hey, Jazz, it's me, Rose. Is something wrong?"

Jasper coughed and snorted loudly. "It's Mom." He sobbed. "She…she's dead."


	44. Chapter 44

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome back, my dear readers. Thank you for the reviews, you left me on the last chapter. I feel blessed to have such supportive readers.

Today's chapter is dedicated to **Tigerforce** and **NoPros**.

_****43****_

Bella could feel her fingers beginning to get numb. Still she didn't dare to move her hand from Rosalie's too tight grasp. Her girlfriend had finally stopped crying. Now, she was speaking to the doctor, asking the man the same questions again and again. It was like Rose was hoping to get a different answer from him, if she just asked often enough.

"Miss Hale." The doctor stated in a very calm voice. "I'm very sorry about your loss. Maybe you would like to talk to one of our psychologists?"

Rosalie sniffed. "I don't want a shrink. I want my mother back."

"Rose, please stop it." Jasper pleaded, wiping some snot from underneath his nose. "Mom is dead."

Bella looked over to Emmett. The entire time, they had been at the hospital now, he hadn't spoken one single word. Instead he starred down at the empty plastic chair across from him. His hands were balled into tight fists.

"Are you sure she killed herself?" Rose asked the doctor. "Maybe it was an accident."

The doctor shook his head no and fumbled around with the stethoscope around his neck. "Your mother took an entire package of sleeping pills. There was also a bigger amount of alcohol in her blood."

"No," Rosalie whispered. "She would never do that. Jasper, Emmett, you need to tell him, Mom would never do such a thing."

Bella pulled Rosalie against her chest and weaved her fingers through Rosalie's tangled hair. "I'm so sorry, honey. Let us go home now. You need to get some rest."

Jasper burst out in tears. "We n-n-need to a-a-arrange the f-f-funeral,"

He barely managed to duck his head when Emmett grabbed a heavy paper weight from the desk between them and threw it into his brother's direction. "Man the fuck up!"

"I can't." Jasper sobbed. "Mom is dead. I can't believe she killed herself. Why didn't she come and talk to me? We talked about everything!"

Emmett slammed his fists against the arm rest of his chair. "Fucking stop it, Jazz. You're not a baby anymore. Stop crying like a bitch or I'll give you something to cry about!"

Alice placed her hand on Emmett's shoulder. "Come with me. We'll go for a walk. Some air will be good for you."

He followed her outside where he kicked a metal trash can with so much force that its entire content got spread around. Then, his fists connected with the concrete of the wall.

"No," Alice whispered. "Please, stop this. You're going to hurt yourself."

She wrapped her arms around his quivering body. He was so angry. It was scaring her.

Like a ragdoll, he collapsed on the ground. A moment later, he grabbed Alice's knees, almost making her buckle over.

"I'm so sorry about your mother." She whispered, petting his hair very lightly. "If you want to cry, you can. Nobody needs to know."

A dry sob reached Alice's ear. Emmett tightened the grip around his dainty girlfriend. Then he cried against the fabric of her dress until the silk fabric was soaked.

xxxx

Bella turned on the light as she and Rosalie entered Lucy's house. The cat rubbed its body against Rosalie's shin.

"Hey, Mr. Jenks," Rosalie mumbled. She lifted him up and rubbed her face against his soft fur. "You're going to miss her too. Won't you?"

The cat snapped, biting Rosalie's hand so hard that she cried out in pain. She let go of the cat that disappeared into the living room.

"Do you need a band aid?" Bella asked, examining Rosalie's hand carefully. She blew gently over the scratch.

"No, I'm fine." Rosalie responded, blowing lightly over the burning scratch on the back of her hand. "Thank you for coming here with me."

"Of course," Bella said. She hugged Rosalie and kissed her hair. "I'll do anything for you. I'm not going to leave you alone in a situation like this."

Rosalie sat down on the stairs. "I don't understand how she could do something like that to us. Why would she kill herself?"

Bella held Rosalie, letting her fingers glide up and down the Blonde's spine. "Stop thinking about it now,"

She made Rose sit down at the couch and went to cook some herbal tea for her in the kitchen. The doctor back in the hospital had given her some tranquilizers to give them to Rose in case it would be necessary.

Throbbing pain flashed through Bella's temples. She searched through the cupboards above the sink, trying to find some Aspirin or other pain meds. Her search wasn't successful. Instead, though, a thick blue-colored envelope fell down on the ground.

_To open in case of my death_ – was written across it in thin, spidery handwriting.

"Rose!" Bella called. "I think you should take a look at this."

Rose rushed inside the kitchen, grabbing the letter from Bella's hands. "What is this?"

Bella coughed. "I think it's her suicide note. God, Rose, I'm so sorry, this happened to you."

The pretty Blonde pressed her lips together. She didn't feel like she had any more tears left to cry now. The pain nagging at her heart was excruciating. Maybe if she had spent more time with her mother. Maybe if she hadn't agitated Lucy with breaking off the engagement with Carlisle…. There were more maybes in Rosalie's mind than she could handle.

She opened the envelope and pulled the sheets of paper out. The ink was smeared on several spots, like Lucy had been crying while she had written the letter.

Rosalie's eyes watered. She had to take out her contacts and search for her glasses in her handbag, noticing that she had left them at Bella's place in Forks.

"Give the letter to me." Bella told Rose, taking the letter from her again. She pulled Rosalie on her lap and kissed her cheek. "No matter what ever happens, I promise to always be here for you."

"I love you Bella," Rosalie whispered, resting her head against Bella's chest. "Can you read the letter to me now?"

xxxx

_By the time you're reading this I will already be dead. There is just no way, how I can endure to stay in this world any longer. I can't endure to live with the amount of guilt I've put upon my soul._

_My end is near and the only comfort I have is that soon, very soon I shall be reunited with my beloved husband. Jasper is, apart from my children, the only thing truly good that happened to me in my life. Unfortunately, I turned out to be the worst thing that happened to Jasper's life._

_Yes, I need to admit it, because there is no way to denying the cruel fact any longer. It's me who brought my dear husband to dead way before his time. It's his love for me that killed him and that guilt will never wash off of me._

_Jasper loved me, although he had no reason ever to do so. He pulled me up from the deepest, darkest corner of life. It is such a big deal to become another person's light. Maybe sometimes, when you get too close to the light, you may burn yourself._

_But I need to start at the beginning. I need to start at the very beginning of everything. That way, you will be able to fully grasp the consequences of my failure as a human being. I'm going to punish myself. Give the Lord, that the others involved in all of this may get punished as well. _

_My faith was sealed when I was fourteen and got introduced to a man named Aro Volturi. He was one of the judges at a beauty contest I participated in. On that day, I only made the second place. It was frustrating for a vain teenage girl. I look back and wished that I had just walked down from that stage in dignity. Instead I made a scene, complaining furiously until Aro pulled me into a room behind the stage._

"_You seem like an ambitious young woman." He said to me. "Get that temper of yours under control. If you do, I have a very promising offer to make to you."_

_His offer quickly turned into a threat. It was Aro himself who - broke me in - like he called it. People always wonder why women end up at the corner of dark streets, offering their bodies to whatever men is willing to pay the affordable price._

_At first I tried to run away. Aro's men always brought me back a few days later. I couldn't tell my parents. Aro had threatened to kill them, should I ever let them know. I managed to live some kind of double life; preppy school girl at day, street hooker after dark. While my mother thought me to be at cheerleader practice, I was sucking off some disgusting men at the backseat of their cars._

_Then, one night, my client and I got caught in the act by two police officers. While one of the cops arrested the man, the other police officer spoke to me. I remember how he went to get two cups of hot chocolate from a cheap coffee shop around the corner to help me warm up a little bit. Jasper was the kindest, most generous man to ever walk the surface of the earth._

_Until this day, I have never truly understood why he fell for me. Why he not only fell for me but also, treated me like I was the first prize. Love changes people. It brings out the best or worst in all of us._

_But enough of the past, now, it's over. If I knew back then what I know now, I would have spilled that hot chocolate over Jasper's freshly ironed uniform and told him to fuck off._

_I hadn't heard Aro's annoyingly nasal voice for over twenty years, when he called me yesterday. Still, the very sound of it, made my entire body quiver with fear. _

_It was Royce King's fault that this monster that destroyed my innocence was brought back into my life. Maybe monsters get pulled towards each other like magnets. Who knows?_

_When I met Royce, I had no idea what kind of repulsive creep he was. Then, when I found out, it was too late. One can close their eyes to a lot of things. Because if you pretend long enough, the ugly truth isn't there. It will slowly but surely disappear._

_Royce King did things to my poor daughter that I can't even manage to write down here. He's a predator, a sick child molester. I wished I had brought up the courage to kill him or at least sent his pedophilic ass to jail. Instead, I let him blackmail me._

_I don't know why, but somehow, Royce managed to find out about my shameful past. For the last years, I have lived in constant fear of him revealing my dark secret to the rest of the world. Now, it finally doesn't longer matter to me. Because nothing matters in comparison to the loss I've suffered when my Jasper was taken away from me._

_I blamed his job at the police, even his partner at the time, for his violet death. In truth it was me, who brought him to his early grave._

_Aro has confessed to me that he killed my husband. He killed him, like he was just a fly on the desk that bothered him. He laughed when he told me about shooting Jasper._

_See? If Jasper had never fallen in love with me, all of this wouldn't have happened. I'm so sorry. I know, it's too late, to say I'm sorry. It doesn't make undone what I did or refused to do._

_I hope my children, especially my daughter, will one day be able to forgive me for all my failures. They'll be in my heart, in this life and the next one._

_Again, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything._

_Lucy_


	45. Chapter 45

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thank you for reading my Rosella fic. I appreciate your feedback a lot.

Today's chapter is dedicated to **jm1708** and **number9**

_****44****_

Rosalie's fingernails were bitten down to the flesh by the time she and Bella entered the office at the police station in Seattle. Her nervous were blank. She was still trying to wrap her head around everything.

"Good evening, Miss Hale." The officer greeted her, clasping a cold hand around Rosalie's hand. "I'm sorry about your loss."

"Thanks," Rose croaked. She could feel her legs turning wobbly underneath her. Quickly, she sat down on one of the plastic chairs across from the officer's desk.

The man cleared his throat and gestured for Bella to sit down as well. "You must be Deputy Swan. Am I right? We spoke on the phone."

Bella nodded her head. "Yes, Sir, that would be me. We brought the letter I told you about with us. Rose, give it to him."

Rosalie's hand trembled when she pulled the envelope out of her handbag. By now, she had memorized its cruel, heartbreaking content by heart. She hated the fact that her mother had killed herself. If Lucy had only told her about her past, Rosalie thought sad. But there was no way to turn back time, no matter how much she wished to be able to do it.

The officer put some plastic gloves on and sighed. "Give the letter to me. I assume you both already touched it?"

Rosalie whispered. "Yes, we did. Shouldn't we have done that?"

Bella placed her hand on Rosalie's, trying to comfort her girlfriend somehow. "It's fine. He just needs to know who already touched it, when they check it for fingerprints."

The officer nodded in agreement. "Now, let's see, what we have here." He mumbled flipping through the pages of the letter. "Sweet Jesus in Heaven," the man called out. Prostitution? Child abuse? A murder?"

"Are you going to arrest the man she mentions in the letter?" Bella asked, closing her fingers gently around Rosalie's hand. "You need to arrest him."

"Miss Swan," the officer snapped. "I don't need you to tell me how to do my fucking job."

Bella cringed. "I'm sorry, Sir. It's just…as you may probably understand the information in this letter is very explosive."

"I understand fully. But the thing is, that this letter alone won't be a very convincing evident in court."

A high-pitched sound left Rosalie's mouth. "Aro Volturi killed my father. How can you let him get away with something like that?"

Bella wrapped her arm around Rosalie. She held her tightly against her chest and whispered. "Rose, it's okay. Please, try to stay calm, honey."

Taking a deep breathe through her slightly parted lips, Rosalie stood up from the chair. "What about Royce?"

The officer typed something into his computer. "I see that the man has already been arrested. Good Riddance."

Rosalie could only agree to this. "How long is he going to stay in jail?"

"That depends." The officer stated, chewing on his lower lip. "The records state that he got arrested for the possession of child pornography."

Bella's stomach cramped. The very thought of the things this disgusting monster had done to Rose and god knows how many other children, was barely endurable for her.

The officer hummed something unintelligible. "Let's see. If things go well, he might get a restraining order to keep a certain distance from schools. A few months of jail, but this was the first time he got caught, so they might turn it into a suspended sentence."

A wave of anger flashed through Bella. How could they let this creep get away so easily? "What if you'd get the testimony of one of his actual victims? That would change things. Wouldn't it?"

The officer's mouth twitched. "Yes, that would most likely change things severely Miss Hale, would you like to have a female officer speak to you about Mr. King?"

Bella exchanged a worried look with Rosalie. Not today, Rosalie told Bella without using words. Today was already hard enough for Rose to deal with.

"Can we get back to this Aro Volturi, Sir?" Bella asked. "You could run his name through the computer and see if anything pops up."

The officer frowned. "Do you think, I won the badge in the lottery? I already checked twice. There is nothing. Not even a fucking traffic ticket."

Bella crossed her arms in front of her chest. "The accusation in the letter should be enough to at least arrest him? Shouldn't it?"

"I agree with you, Deputy Swan." He responded. "We'll see what we can do about that. It looks like Mr. Volturi isn't in town right at the moment."

"Good," Bella mumbled. "Thank you for taking care of this, Sir. I'll give you my number. Would you call me in case you'll find out something new?"

He hummed in agreement and told them goodbye.

Outside on the parking lot Bella pulled out her cell and dialed Edward Masen's phone number.

"Edward?" she whispered in a husky voice. "You need to help me with something. Can we meet up later?"

xxxxx

Much later that night when Bella had tugged Rosalie in her bed and handed her a cup of tea, she felt exhausted. Not so much physically, but mentally. She needed to stay strong for Rose though. Rose needed her to be strong now.

"Make small sips." Bella mumbled. "The tea is very hot. I put two spoons of sugar in. You like it sweet, right?"

Rose sighed and nipped carefully on the drink. "Thank you for being here with me."

Bella brushed a messy curl of Rosalie's thick hair behind the woman's ear. "I love you. And I promise you we'll make it through all of this."

"I miss Mom." Rose whispered. "I feel bad for her. She should have told me and my brothers about her past."

Bella took the cup from Rosalie's quivering hands and placed it on the nightstand next to them. "Maybe she was ashamed. God, I really hope they are going to arrest this Volturi guy soon."

Rosalie closed her eyes. She felt suddenly so numb and tired. Don't fall asleep, she thought but a minute later, she passed out.

"Sleep, my Beautiful, you need some rest." Bella whispered, pressing her lips against Rosalie's temple. Then she went downstairs, deciding to sit on the steps outside. It was cold, but fresh air was exactly what Bella needed right now. Tomorrow, she needed to convince Rosalie into pressing charges against Royce King. But what if she refused to testify against him? It was so much to ask of her to speak to a random officer about the horrific things King had done to her when she was a child.

"Hey Swan," a deep voice greeted her. "Did your girlfriend kick you out?"

"Hello to you too, Edward." Bella mumbled, rubbing up and down her too cold arms. "Thanks for coming her so soon."

"It sounded important." He stated, sitting down next to her. "Are you cold?"

"Yes, but that's fine. It reminds me I'm still alive."

Edward cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about Lucy Hale's death. It's a tragedy."

Bella rubbed her hands together, now even her fingers were beginning to feel unpleasantly cold. "Did you know she used to be a prostitute?"

He nodded. "Yes, we found out about that during our researches. Aro Volturi is a bastard who has his filthy paws in all kinds of dirty businesses."

"Can we get him behind bars?" Bella asked. "There has to be a way. He killed a police officer."

"Wrong," Edward stated. "He killed someone that was obviously in his way. The question is why."

Bella stood up from the step and wiped a bit of dirt from her jeans. "Let's go inside, before I catch a cold. Rose is sleeping upstairs. I gave her some tranquilizers."

"That's good." Edward said, following Bella inside the house. "It must be hard for Mrs. Hale's kids to lose their mother like this."

Bella pulled out a bottle of diet coke from the fridge. "Do you want some? Rose, hasn't done any grocery shopping in the last time it seems. This is all we have apart from tea."

"I'm fine, thank you. Now, tell me about your theory."

Bella filled a glass with coke and nipped on it. "Will you promise me not to make some sarcastic comment about it?"

"Jeez, you are too sensitive for being a cop. Now, spill the beans. What's your theory, Swan?"

"Officer Hale saved Lucy from her humiliating job as a street hooker. Volturi went and searched for them. Hale got in his way, when he tried to keep his wife safe from him."

"Interesting idea, but you are missing out the fact that Hale was a cop. Don't you think a cop would have tried to get Volturi's ass arrested?"

"You have a point. Maybe officer Hale wanted to arrest Volturi without people finding out his wife used to work for him."

Edward chewed on his bottom lip. "No, you are finally starting to think in the right direction."

He noticed a copy of Lucy Hale's suicide note on the table. Bella had made it before she and Rosalie had brought the original to the police station. Edward's lips moved rapidly while he read through the letter.

"King abused Lucy's daughter?"

"Yes," Bella whispered. "He used to be her manager when she was a child. Lucy made Rose do these awful beauty pageants."

Edward dropped the letter back on the table. "This is perfect."

"I don't see why." Bella responded. "We went to the police today. Royce King is most likely going to end up with a way too mild sentence."

Edward's left eyebrow moved up. "Did you tell the police that King used to abuse Miss Hale?"

Bella coughed. "Not exactly," she mumbled. "It's in the letter, but that won't be enough if Rose doesn't press charges and makes an official statement about the abuse. "I've tried to convince Rosalie to press charges but she doesn't want to. She's scared to speak to strangers about what happened to her."

"Isabella," Edward said in a strict voice. "You're a cop for fucks sake. Haven't they taught you anything at the police academy?"

"Don't talk to me like this!" Bella yelled. "My girlfriend's mother just died. It's not like I don't have enough to do coping with the fact that she's a victim of sexual abuse."

"Lower your voice, Bella." He said. "I know this is hard for you. But you need to be strong and act professionally."

Bella could feel a sob dying in her throat when she swallowed it down with the last bit of strength she could find within herself. "I hate that something horrible like this happened to someone I love."

Edward smiled and nodded his head. "I understand how that feels like. But you need to take your emotions out of this. Imagine someone else walking up at your station, telling you they'd been abused as a child. What would you do?"

Bella coughed, spilling the coke that she was about to drink on her shirt. "Fill a report? I can't do that for Rose, if she doesn't agree to it."

"Yes, you can, Bella. You're right, Rosalie Hale is a victim. You can't expect her to make reasonable choices."

Bella shook her head. "I won't do anything against her will."

"Men like Aro Volturi and Royce King give a shit about what others want." Edward sighed deeply. "If I could only find the connection between those two fuckers,"

"Could it have to do with the beauty pageants maybe?" Bella asked. "Lucy mentions something about Aro having been a judge in one of them."

Edward nodded. "You could be right. What time do you think is it in Paris right now?"

"Somewhat the middle of the night, I think." Bella said. "Why are you mentioning Paris?"

"It's the city of love." Edward responded. "Maybe when all of this is over you should take your girlfriend to a trip there."

"How is this supposed to end?" Bella sighed. "I don't know how?"

"Everything ends, Bella, one way or another. Now, about Paris, that's where Aro Volturi currently is. He's busy doing some business in Europe."

"The police said the letter is not enough evidence to get him arrested."

"I know," Edward said in a self-pleased tone. Bella hated that he was such an annoyingly arrogant prick all the time. "That's because he needs to feel safe. If Aro knew, he was expecting an arrest back home in the States, he'd run off to somewhere outside our grasp."

"But when he returns here?"

Edward smirked. "As soon as he sets foot on US ground again, we'll have him arrested. After that, it's up to us for how long he's going to stay there."


	46. Chapter 46

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thank you to those of you who love and support me. Without you, I would have given up on the whole writing thing a long time ago. Yes, I do doubt myself constantly for several reasons. It means a lot to me to know that someone actually cares about my stories. All of this is supposed to be a learning process. We'll see how things turn out.

There's a time jump in this chapter. We're six months ahead now. I hope it's not too confusing -

The chapter below is dedicated to **DawnLeon** for being the _**600**__**th **_reviewer.

_****45****_

"This here is the last one." Rosalie stated, placing the heavy box next to Bella on the ground. "Are you finished with the closet?"

"I think so." Bella mumbled, putting the screw driver aside. "It wasn't that difficult to put it together."

Rosalie leaned down and kissed Bella's mouth. "You're my hero. I knew it was a good idea to move in with you."

"Because, I'm able to build up closets for your shoe collection?" Bella asked. "Jeez, how many pairs does a single person need? We should throw at least a third of them out."

"No way," Rosalie protested, placing her arms protectively over the box with her beloved high-heels. "My babies need to stay with me."

"I was just joking." Bella stated, standing up from the ground. "It's good though we're almost done with the moving. My back is killing me."

Rosalie placed her hands on Bella's neck. She pressed her lips lightly against the pale skin. "I'm sorry about that. Do you want a massage?"

"Always," Bella whispered, leaning back into Rosalie's embrace. "But I'm afraid we don't have time for that now. We still have the whole stuff in the kitchen to unpack."

Rosalie yawned. "We'll do that later, okay? Can we have a little break now?"

"Sure," Bella mumbled, leaning back against the pillows on the bed. She wrapped her arm around Rosalie and held her close against her chest. Her fingertips moved through the silkiness of Rosalie's hair. "How was your therapy session yesterday?"

"Do we have to talk about it every time I go there?" Rosalie asked. "I cherish your interest a lot. Without you, I wouldn't have managed to make it through the last months but still…"

Bella sighed, trying to keep herself from saying something wrong. It was ridiculous that she hated the fact that Rosalie was discussing things with her therapist she didn't want to talk about with her. All the Hale's had been seeing a family therapist after Lucy's death. It was such a difficult situation for them to deal with.

"I don't want to talk about my therapy all the time." Rose stated. "When I'm with you, I just want to be happy."

"You make me very happy." Bella murmured, rubbing her nose down Rosalie's jawline. "I just want you to know, I'm always here for you."

"I know. That's one of the reasons why I love you so much." Rosalie snuggled closer against Bella on the bed. "I just wish the whole trial was already over. I'm so worried about that."

Bella rubbed her eyes. Yes, she was worried about that too. She was mostly worried about how Rosalie would be able to handle the situation in court. Things looked pretty good when it came to that awful creeper King. Rosalie had managed to bring up the courage to press charges against him. Hopefully, the judge would let his perverted ass rot in jail for a very long time.

"I'm scared." Rosalie confessed. "I mean, I'm scared that I need to repeat everything I've already told the police….that I need to speak about those things in court too."

"I know, you're scared," Bella responded. "But it's the right thing to do. You are very brave. I'm so proud of you for helping to get this bastard the punishment he deserves."

Downstairs the front door was opened. A moment later Emmett called loudly, "Hello, are you home, dykes?"

"Does he know we hate it when he calls us that?" Bella mumbled, getting up from the bed. It squeaked underneath her. They really needed to fix this soon.

Rosalie nodded. "He does." She stated. "Emmett, we're upstairs. Don't let the cat out again. He's supposed to stay in the house."

Emmett walked up the stairs to stick his head inside the bedroom. "Hey, your cat is licking his own dick. Did you know that?"

"You're disgusting." Rosalie told him. "How does Alice put up with you?"

He chuckled, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "It's more like I'm putting up with Pregozilla."

Bella reached for a pillow and tossed it in Emmett's direction. "You're a jerk. Being pregnant is difficult. You are supposed to be supportive."

"Any more supportive and I'm the one who's going to get the episiotomy instead of her. I've been with her to every silly check-up, where we pretend to see arms and legs that are in truth only grey shadows."

Rosalie smacked her brother against his upper arm. "Poor Alice, soon she's going to have two babies to take care of. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I brought the flat screen, like I promised to. Wow, this room looks so different now with the red walls."

"Thanks," Bella mumbled. "Rose, I start with unpacking in the kitchen. The sooner we get over with this the better."

After Bella had left the bedroom, Emmett cleared his throat. "Things are going well between you and Bells, right?"

"She makes me very happy." Rose stated. "I love her."

He sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm glad you're happy." He fished for something in the pocket of his jacket. "Are you nervous about the trial?"

"It's more like I'm scared."

"My offer about killing the asshole is still up." He said. "Maybe you should re-think it."

"Killing Royce doesn't make things undone. I just want him to stay in jail, so that he can never hurt another girl again in his life." She could feel her heart beginning to clench in her chest. The very thought of Royce dragging another girl into the basement in his house, was almost killing Rosalie.

Emmett's mouth turned into a frown. "What about this wannabe mobster Volturi? They even let him out on bail money."

"Yes, but he had to give his passport to the police. I don't know if they'll manage to convince the jury he killed Dad. There isn't any evidence apart from Mom's letter."

Rosalie pressed her lips together and nodded. The thought that her father's murderer was possibly going to get away was hurtful for her. "Maybe this FBI moron, Masen is going to come up with something. I don't like that man but at least he believes too that it was Volturi who killed Dad."

"Masen is gay and doesn't know it yet. If that man knew how to do is job properly, he would already have found something against Volturi. I mean, how can someone get away with something like murder?"

Rose swallowed back a lump in her throat. "People get away with a lot of things."

"Let's hope not this time. Look, there's something I need to ask you." Emmett said, pulling a small box out of the pocket of his jacket. "Do you want to have Grandma's engagement ring?"

"Why?" Rose asked, taking the box from her brother. She opened it up, letting her fingertip circle over the golden ring with the small quarter-carat diamond on top of it.

"Do you want to have it or not?" Emmett asked again. "I think Mom would have wanted you to have it. You're the only girl, so it should probably belong to you now like the other jewelry stuff."

Rosalie closed the box. "I don't care for the ring. Do you want to have it for Alice?"

He smirked and Rosalie squeaked in a way too girly way. "You are going to propose to her? Really? That's fantastic. Congratulations."

"She hasn't said yes, yet." He stated. "I want to ask her soon. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Rose mumbled. She hugged her brother and told him goodbye, bringing him downstairs. "Before I forget it, we need our spare key back." She said. "It's not like we like surprise visitors too much."

"I don't want to catch you jumping each other's bones." Emmett said, handing Rose the key back. "Goodbye Rose. Bella, I'll see you around."

He walked out and Rose went to help Bella with storing the plates and everything into the kitchen cupboards. "He's going to propose to Alice. Isn't that great?"

"Isn't that a bit early?" Bella responded, trying to make some more room to fit the mugs into the left side of the cupboard.

"You're such an unromantic person."

"Getting married has nothing to do with being romantic. It's just a piece of paper."

"I don't think so." Rosalie whispered. "I think marriage is a good thing when it happens between the right two people."

Bella wrapped her arms around Rosalie's waist. Gently her fingers moved down the Blonde's spine. "If I get married, I want to keep my name."

"If you'd asked me to marry you, I'd be fine with that."

Bella swallowed, a strange wave of nervousness floating through her. "Do you want me to ask you?"

"No!" Rose called out, jumping on the chair behind her. "God, Bella do something against this thing over there! I hate spiders!"

"Where?" Bella asked, barely able to hold back a laugh. "I don't see any spider."

"Are you blind? It's right on the counter."

Bella laughed and finally caught sight of the tiny black spider running over the counter. "Do you want me to remove it for you?"

"Yes, of course! Spiders are so gross. God, my skin is already itching."

Grabbing some kitchen tissue, Bella killed the unwanted little parasite and threw it into the trash.

"Are you sure, it's really dead?" Rose asked worriedly. "Maybe you should check again?"

"You are safe." Bella stated. "Do we want to go upstairs now? We need to make something against the squeaking of the bed."

It only took them a couple of minutes to fix things. When they were done, Bella hopped down on the bed. "Much better like this, don't you think?"

Rosalie kicked off her shoes and sat down on Bella's lap, straddling her. "I like the bed we chose for our bedroom. We need to christenize it soon."

"Soon," Bella mumbled, pulling Rosalie closer. "I can't wait for that." She planted a tender kiss on Rosalie's mouth. "I really want to try the dildo with you."

"Such a naughty woman," Rose mumbled, letting her fingers glide down Bella's chest. "You are sexy and you kill spiders for me. That's what makes you perfect for me."

Bella moaned softly into Rosalie's mouth when she pulled her girlfriend in for another kiss. "You always believe in me…and you smell kind of good…always." She kissed Rose again. "That's why you're perfect for me."

Rosalie sighed and leaned back, resting her head against Bella's collarbone. "I'd like you to ask me to marry you, but I know how you feel about marriage."

"It doesn't mean that I don't love you." Bella whispered, caressing Rosalie's face with her fingertips. "Because I do, more than anything,"

"I know," Rose murmured. "We don't need to get married. It's not that important."

Bella knew that when Rose insisted on something not being "that important" it usually meant quit the opposite. But after seeing her own parents' marriage failing, Bella wasn't too convinced about the concept of marriage.

"So, the trial is starting the day after tomorrow. Do you feel prepared for it?"

Rose coughed. "I have another meeting with my therapist before it. Can we please not talk about the trial anymore until Thursday?"

"Sure," Bella responded. "We don't have to talk about it, if that is what you want."

Rose chuckled bitterly. "What I want? I just want this trial to be over. I want to be sure that Royce won't get another chance to find another victim."

"You're not a victim. You're a survivor. Crap, I hate this man so much. I could kill him. It would turn this world into a better place."

"Stop talking like that. I don't want you to kill Royce. I just want to forget what he did to me."

Bella cupped Rosalie's face between her hands. "When the trial is over, we're never going to speak of him again. You are safe now. Nobody is ever going to hurt you again."


	47. Chapter 47

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Thanks for reading and reviewing my little Rosella fic here. I appreciate your support so much. Without your love for my stories, I wouldn't be here.

Today's update is dedicated to my readers **mooray** and **Wolf-Babe125**.

_****46****_

"You're nervous. Aren't you?" Edward asked Bella who was chewing on a wisp of her hair. Her nerves were blank. She had barely slept last night. When she had eventually managed to fall asleep, nightmares had tortured Bella again.

"I'm fine." She lied to Edward. "Just a little excited about everything. I've never been to court before. Have you?"

He sipped on the rest of his water, before he crunched the plastic cup between his fingers and tossed it into the trash standing a bit further away from them.

Bella cringed when she felt Edward's icy hand on hers a moment later. "Thank you." He stated. "For all your help in the last months,"

Pulling away her hand from him, Bella shook her head no. "You always tell me I have crappy theories."

"I don't exactly use the word crappy." Edward stated. "You're too emotional, but maybe that's the most helpful aspect of it all."

The door to the courtroom was pulled open and a bald-headed man announced that they were ready to get started now.

Bella's legs felt weak. She hated that she couldn't manage to suppress her nervousness any better. She wanted to be strong. She needed to be strong for Rose who was sitting between her two brothers in the first row. When she saw Bella her lips twitched into a ghost-like smile. It didn't reach her eyes.

Everybody rose from their seats when the judge entered the room. His voice was sharp like a razorblade when he spoke up.

"Good Morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. This is case 1987-N-0913 – the State of Washington against Mr. Aro Volturi. Court usher, you may bring the defendant in now."

Bella could see how Rosalie and Alice, who was sitting on Emmett's other side, both grabbed his hands in their smaller ones.

The man, Aro, was wearing the ugly orange-colored overall of the state prison with the same arrogance like he would one of his designer suits. His hair was greasy and combed back, tied into a ponytail in his neck. He smirked, a smile much like that of a shark getting ready to attack its prey. Bella felt the skin on her forearm rising into goose bumps.

"Raise your hand, Mr. Volturi." The judge instructed. "Do you swear to tell the truth and only the truth, so help you God."

"I swear," Volturi mumbled, his snake-like eyes moving over to where the children of Officer Jasper Hale were sitting. The blonde woman between Lucy Hale's sons was pretty. Lucy had been pretty too. Aro had a preference for beautiful things and loved to surround himself with them.

"Mr. Volturi," the prosecutor said after an awkward moment of silence. "You have decided to defend yourself today. How do you pledge? Guilty or not guilty?"

Volturi's voice was smooth like soft butter when he spoke up again. "Not guilty, what else? I'm an innocent, tax-paying business man."

The prosecutor coughed and flipped quickly through the folder in his hands. "Well, we'll see about that, Mr. Volturi. Now, why don't you tell us a little bit about your…business?"

Volturi grinned. Then he played around on the wedding band on his left hand. "I buy and sell pretty things, since when is that a crime?"

"Mr. Volturi, the accusations concerning you and your so-called business are pretty severe too." The judge said. "Human trafficking, dealing with child pornography and the murder of a police officer aren't trivial offense."

Aro Volturi folded his hands together. "I absolutely agree with you on this, Your Honor. But as I said before, I'm innocent as new born baby. The only crime I've ever committed was forgetting my wedding anniversary."

"Mr. Volturi, your private life and how you handle it, is not on stake today." The prosecutor snarled. "How about we start with your alibi for the night when Officer Hale was killed. Do you have one?"

Again, Aro Volturi grinned. "I spent that night, like I have spent Thanks Giving every night the last fifty years of my life. Home at my mother's house, together with over twenty family members that can testify I was there."

The prosecutor scrawled a note on a piece of paper and placed it on the judge's desk. "Do you have any witnesses that aren't related to you?"

"There's the housekeeper and my driver," Volturi stated with a self-satisfied grin.

"I see." The prosecutor said. "Well, why do you think, Mrs. Lucy Hale accused you of these horrible crimes, when you are….newbornly innocent as you put it."

Volturi cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about the woman's tragic death. Depression and other mental illnesses are terrible things."

"Objection." The prosecutor snapped. "Mr. Volturi is making assumptions about Mrs. Hale's health condition that he can't know about."

"Sustained," the judge mumbled. "The jury will ignore the defendant's last statement." Then he turned to Mr. Volturi. "We're going to hear the first witness now."

Bella grabbed the frame of the empty chair in front of her when Royce King was guided into the room. There was a yellowish bruise on his left cheek and a bit of dried blood on the corner of his mouth. His eyes looked dead when he lifted his hand and whispered to speak the truth.

"Mr. King," the Judge started. "Are you familiar with Mr. Volturi?"

"More than I'd like to be, Your Honor."

"I can imagine that, Mr. King. How do you like it in jail so far?" the prosecutor asked in a teasing tone. "They aren't exactly nice to guys like you in there. Are they?"

"I'm here to witness against, Mr. Volturi." Royce stated, his bottom lip quivering a bit. "He's the true villain here."

"If I were you, Mr. King." The prosecutor stated. "If I were you, Mr. King, I wouldn't use the term villain this loosely."

"I never killed anyone." Royce said. "And I'm getting therapy now for my….condition."

I'd like to give you a therapy session with a baseball bat, Bella thought, clenching her hands into fists. Royce's own process was going to be held in a couple of days. He was probably hoping to get a milder sentence by agreeing to testify against this bastard Volturi.

"How did you and Mr. Volturi meet each other?" The prosecutor asked. "Are you friends with him?"

Royce coughed. "Not exactly, Your Honor. Mr. Volturi and I both have an eye for beautiful things."

"Sick pig!" someone yelled from the backside of the courtroom. "Castrate him!" someone else suggested loudly.

There was a loud tumult for a couple of minutes before the Judge called everyone to silence again.

"Now, what kind of business were you and Mr. Volturi doing together?" the prosecutor asked Royce.

"We met at a beauty contest for preteens a couple of years ago. He…," Royce hesitated for a minute. "Mr. Volturi caught me making pictures of the girls while they were putting on their outfits."

The prosecutor nodded his head. "Mr. Volturi, do you remember meeting Mr. King there?"

"No, Sir, I don't. I have never been to any kind of silly beauty contest in my entire life."

A smile washed over the prosecutor's face. "Are you sure about that, Mr. Volturi? Isn't it kind of strange that, both, Mr. King and Mrs. Hale both insisted that's where they met you?"

The man cleared his throat. "Jury, Your Honor, please open the folders I've presented you with and open it up on page four, evidence two B."

Shaking his head, the judge flipped to the requested page. "Little Miss Yellow Texas Pearls Contest – hosted by Volturi Jewelry Enterprises."

Volturi shrugged his shoulders. "That doesn't prove I was there."

"Right, Mr. Volturi." The prosecutor agreed. "This brings me to exhibit 3 B – on the next page in the folder. There we have pictures of you, crowning the lucky winner of the contest. Now, does that help to refresh your memory?"

"It was a long time ago." Volturi stated. "You can't expect me to remember everything I've done in my life."

"Oh, we don't do that." The prosecutor stated sharply. "Now, let's get back to the witness. Mr. King, tell us about the offer that Mr. Volturi made to you on the day you met him?"

"Well," Royce whispered, speaking up a bit louder when he continued. "Like I said, he caught me making the pictures and then he called me a freaking sicko. I told him, I wasn't. That there are many men with the same…preferences."

Bella could feel her stomach cramping. When she looked over to Rosalie, she noticed how the Blonde was staring down on the floor, trying to avoid eye-contact with Royce at all costs.

"What happened after that, Mr. King?" the judge asked, wiping his forehead with a tissue.

"He asked me, whether someone like me would be willing to pay money for pictures of half-dressed girls and I told him yes, probably a lot. That's how the whole thing started."

"Started what?" the prosecutor tried to dig deeper. "Did he make you an offer to work for him?"

"Kind of, Sir, kind of. I was more of a regular costumer of his…services."

"What kind of service are we speaking about?" the judge asked.

"Mr. Volturi started selling pictures of young girls under the counter in his jewelry shop. Oh Sir, he only had the most beautiful girls pose for the pictures."

Volturi coughed a bit louder and longer than necessary. "I think it's obvious that Mr. King here is a sick-minded pedophile. What he's trying to do here is trying to distract from the fact that those disgusting little pictures were found at his place. Not in my shops."

"Because, I stored them there for you," Royce responded. "You know that better than I do."

"No further questions," the prosecutor murmured. "Mr. King, they will bring you back to your cell now. Maybe we need to hear you again at a later point."

Royce was brought outside and Bella could see how Rosalie seemed to relax a tiny bit in her seat.

The next witness was called up and Bella recognized the shop-assistant from the jewelry store in Port Angeles.

"Raise your right hand, Mr. Demitrios," the judge told the man. "Do you swear to tell the truth, only the truth, so help you God?"

"Yes, Your Honor, I swear."

"Good, Mr. Demitrios." The prosecutor began his questioning. "So, you're one of Mr. Volturi's employees. Is that correct?"

Demitrios nodded his head. "Yes, Sir, I've been working for Mr. Volturi for over twenty years now."

"I see," the prosecutor said. "Did Mr. Volturi ever make you sell child pornography in the shop?"

"No, Sir, of course not."

"But Mr. King told us something else." The prosecutor cleared his throat. "Your Honor, Jury, please flip onto page seven in your folders. Exhibit 4 A."

A self-pleased grin flashed over the prosecutor's face. "These credit card bills state that Mr. King has been a regular costumer in your shop in Port Angeles."

"We have many clients every day." Demitrios stated, shifting awkwardly back and forth on his chair. "Maybe Mr. King bought presents for his girlfriend?"

"Seems like she has a preference for pearls." The prosecutor assumed. "Because that's the only kind of jewelry he ever bought. Pearl-earrings, pearl—bracelets, pearls over pearls."

"We sell all kinds of jewelry." Demitrios told the prosecutor. "Since when is it a crime to sell and buy pearls?"

"Page eight now, Your Honor." The prosecutor instructed in a polite voice. Then he placed a box on the table in front of Demitrios. "Do you recognize those pearls?"

"Yes, those are some of ours."

"Are those freshwater pearls?"

"No, those are fake ones. See, this little certificate there? We're not hiding anything from our customers."

"You are not here today because of how you handle things with your so-called costumers." The judge stated, looking up from the folder.

"Of course, Sir," Demitrios murmured. "I'm here to help Mr. Volturi. He's innocent."

"Mr. Demitrios, can you tell me the price difference between real pearls and fake ones?" The prosecutor asked Demitrios whose face turned paler and paler. "And if those are fake ones, why would Mr. King be so stupid to pay the price of real ones instead?"


	48. Chapter 48

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N]

This story is giving me a hard time right now. Well, to be honest, everything is giving me a hard time at the moment. It's so difficult to overcome these depressive moods, the constant feeling of not being good enough, no matter how hard I try. Anyway, it's still my goal to get this baby here finished. After that, we'll see. I'd like to try my hand at OF but I don't think I write well enough for that.

Today's update is dedicated to Leslie for being such a loyal and supportive friend. I'm happy to have you by my side.

_****47****_

Agent Masen's mouth curled into a half-sided smile when the judge instructed him to raise his hand.

"State your full name for the record." The judge told him, seeing how the young man straightened his back to make himself appear taller.

"Edward Anthony Masen," Edward said, his eyes moving over to the table on the side where Aro Volturi was sitting.

"Mr. Masen, can you tell this court why you've been investigating the defendant for over a year now?"

Edward nodded his head. "Yes, Your Honor, I can. I have found proof that Volturi Jewelry is nothing but a cover up for Mr. Volturi's true businesses."

"Can you tell us more about that?" the prosecutor asked, pushing his glasses up a bit higher on his nose.

"Of course, Sir, I can do that. See, I've been observing one of Mr. Volturi's shops in Port Angeles for a while now. Let me tell you, that most costumers visiting said shop are unmarried males around forty."

Volturi coughed and tightened the leather band around his ponytail a bit. "A lot of our customers like buying gifts from our collection."

"Mr. Volturi," the judge snapped. "You are only to speak when asked a direct question. Are we clear about that, Sir?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Aro Volturi murmured, looking down at his hands again. "I understand completely."

The judge frowned. Then he turned his attention back to Edward. "Did you find any evidence at the shop after you got the search warrant?"

"We found lists," Edward stated. "Of clients purchasing pearl jewelry."

"How is that any proof that Mr. Volturi has something to do with the accusations concerning Mr. King and the pictures we found at his house?"

"Well, Your Honor, the thing is that in order to sell pearls, you need to manufactor or buy them yourself first. Volturi Jewelry has its own manufactories but they don't make enough for that many pearls."

"I see." The judge mumbled, rubbing his chin. "Go on."

"I'm convinced the pearls are being used as some sort of code word. No pedophile would feel comfortable entering a shop, asking for nudes of minors. They know the police have its ears everywhere."

Volturi got another coughing fit. Then he glared at Agent Masen, like he was thinking of ten different ways to kill the man who was about to break his own neck.

"I'm convinced that Mr. Volturi here has been selling child pornography big style. The…customers enter the shop, asking for pearls, specifically fake pearls. In truth they get porn."

"Do you have valid proof for those accusations?" the prosecutor asked Edward in a voice that came out a bit too high-pitched.

"My partners and I…we've investigated seven people whose credit card bills stated that they purchased pearl jewelry at one of Mr. Volturi's stores. We found child pornography at their houses. There is no other connection between those men than their regular visits to Mr. Volturi's so-called jewelry store."

The judge shook his head. "Thank you, Mr. Masen. No further questions for you so far." He slammed his hammer against his desk. "I'm interrupting the session for a thirty minute break."

A couple of minutes later, Rosalie found herself standing in front of a sink, forcing herself to stop scrubbing her hands with the cheap, bubblegum-scented soap.

"I think your hands are clean enough now." Alice mumbled, stepping close to Rosalie to turn of the water. "God, I feel like I could pee every two minutes."

"When is the baby due again?" Rose asked, drying off her hands with a paper towel.

"In two weeks. I think Emmett is more nervous about it than me."

Rosalie's lips twitched into a smile. "He loves you very much. That's why he's nervous."

Alice sighed and pressed her hands against her lower back. "Those chairs in there are the most uncomfortable I've ever had to sit on. My back is killing me."

They walked outside where Bella pulled Rose into a tight embrace. "How are you doing?" she whispered, making Rose sit down on a wooden bench in front of the courtroom.

"If I say okay, it would be a lie." Rose whispered back. "They are going to nail Volturi down. Aren't they? All those…disgusting men need to get punished too."

Bella sat down next to Rose on the bench. "Edward is sure that Volturi is ending up in jail for a long time for dealing with child pornography."

"What about the murder?" Emmett asked, handing a cup with orange juice to his girlfriend. "He's going to get his ass kicked for that too. Right, Bella?"

Alice sipped on the juice and wrinkled her nose. "Why didn't you bring me apple juice? I hate orange juice when it's not freshly squeezed."

"You're a spoiled brat." He snapped at her. "Your Dad and your Mammy should have put you over their knees a couple of times when you were a girl."

"You're an asshole." Alice stated. "But I know you're only being one right now because you're agitated."

"I'm not fucking agitated." Emmett said. "I just wish I could kill Royce and this creeper Volturi with my own hands."

"Emmett, stop it!" Rose pleaded. "I just want all of this to be over. I need it to be over. Whether Volturi gets punished for killing Dad or not."

Edward walked by, running his hands through his copper hair to get it out of his eyes. "Mr. Hale, I'd like to have the prosecutor call you up as another witness."

Emmett shrugged his shoulders. "What for? I don't think I understand."

Agent Masen nodded his head. "You were the last person who saw your father alive."

Emmett's insides clenched. "What does that have to do with him getting murdered by this…freak?"

"A lot," Edward stated. "Anything he said, anything he did right before he left for this shift he never returned home from could be helpful."

Bella sighed. "Edward, we've been through this again and again. It's not leading to anything. Emmett was ten when his father was killed."

"He must remember something." Edward insisted. "Miss Hale too. The other Mr. Hale is useless of course, since he was only a toddler when the murder happened."

"You are useless yourself." Jasper snapped. "If people like you and Swan were doing their jobs right..,"

"It's enough, Jasper." Charlie stated calmly, walking towards them. "Your father was a good man. I wish, I could only be half as good as him."

xxxx

"State your full name for the record." The judge instructed Charlie who was chewing a bit on the outer corner of his moustache.

"My name is Charles Philipp Swan. I'm the Chief of Police down at Forks."

The prosecutor stepped closer to the witness stand. "Mr. Swan, is it correct that the victim, Officer Jasper Hale, used to be your partner at the time he was murdered?"

"Yes, Your Honor, that's correct."

"Can you tell us when was the last time you spoke to him?"

"Yes, I can. It was in the afternoon, the day before he got killed, at around five p.m. I think."

"What did you speak about?"

"The Game that was on the night before. Then he told me he had a fight with his wife."

"Did they fight often?"

"Not more than other couples. I assume she was mad at him for working another holiday."

"Did Officer Hale tell you about what he had been fighting with his wife?"

"No, he didn't. But I think it was about money again. A small town cop doesn't make that much and the Hale's had three kids. Money was always an issue."

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Swan." The prosecutor told Charlie. "No further questions so far." He turned to the judge. "Your Honor, I'd like to call up another witness."

Emmett's voice was raspy when he vowed to speak the truth and only the truth. The truth here was that it was pointless to call him up as a witness. He had only been a stupid child when the murder happened. A child that had been forced to grow up so fast that he never had gotten rid of childish behavior completely.

"Mr. Hale," the prosecutor began. "What do remember about the last day of your father's life?"

"Nothing," Emmett mumbled. "I've already told the police that it was just like any other day."

"Mr. Swan just told us that your parents had a fight. Do you remember any of that?"

"I'm not sure. They always sent me to my room when they were having a fight."

"I see, Mr. Hale. Would you say that your parents were fighting a lot?"

"Not really. Dad was…he loved Mom so much. But on that day he was angry at her. I think it was partly my fault."

"Why do you think that, Mr. Hale?" the judge asked. "Were they fighting about you?"

"More about what I had done." Emmett rubbed his forehead. "I played pirate and flushed one of my mother's earrings down the toilet."

The judge scrawled down something on a piece of paper in front of him. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Hale. No further questions."

When the judge instructed Aro Volturi to take a seat in the witness stand again the man frowned. His mouth was pressed together like he was trying somehow desperately to calm his nerves.

"Mr. Volturi, did you ever meet the victim Officer Hale in your life?"

"No, never, Your Honor." Volturi responded.

"Did you know his wife, Lucy Hale?"

"In the biblical sense?" Volturi smirked a crooked grin. "The answer to that question would be, yes."

"Lucy Hale has stated in her suicide note that you forced her to work as a prostitute."

"That's a lie, Sir. I never forced any woman to sell her body. Lucy did it for the money."

The prosecutor flipped through his folder. Then he placed a Polaroid picture in front of Volturi. "Do you recognize the ear-ring in this picture?"

"I do. That's one of ours. What does that have to do with the case?"

The prosecutor's mouth twitched. "I don't expect you to remember, Mr. Volturi. Let me help you freshen up your memory." He turned to the Jury. "Page seventeen, exhibit 5D."

Aro Volturi's yellowish skin color turned paler when the prosecutor put a sheet of paper on the desk in front of him.

"Your bookkeepers work very precisely, Mr. Volturi. This document states that Mr. Hale purchased a pair of pearl-earrings a week before his death. He paid cash. Isn't this your signature on the receipt, Mr. Volturi?"

"Yes, it is." Aro Volturi mumbled. "So, yes, I met Hale. Doesn't proof I killed him, Sir."

Taking the picture away from Aro's shaking hands, the prosecutor spoke up again. "You did kill, Officer Hale. The question is why. Did he found out about your dirty businesses?"

"He was a stupid small town Deputy. Like I said before and I hate repeating myself all the time. I had no reason to kill him. He didn't matter."

"But Lucy Hale mattered to you, didn't she? We have phone records from Tennessee and Texas. You really seemed to have trouble letting go of that poor woman."

He leaned over to Aro, resting his hand on Aro's desk. "Was Lucy Hale such a good whore? Did it cost you a lot of money to lose her?"

"No," Aro Volturi whispered. "But I still wanted her back. I told her husband that he could buy her stupid earrings and other crap to cover her up as a lady, but she was still nothing but a little hooker."

"What did Officer Hale respond to that?" The judge asked. "I can imagine he was furious about the way you spoke about the woman he loved."

"He was an idiot. Only an idiot falls for a whore. Only an idiot claims another man's son to be his own."

"You loved her too." The prosecutor stated. "Let's put this straight. You killed Hale because you were jealous. Were you in love with Lucy Hale, Mr. Volturi?"

"I've never been in love with a hooker in my entire life. I'm a married man."

"That didn't keep you from sleeping with Lucy Hale. Maybe you'll get away with this murder. But your ass is still going to rot behind bars for a long time."

"You have to understand," Aro whined. "I had to kill him. As long as Lucy was with him, she'd never come back to me."

"So, you were in love with her." The prosecutor snapped. "And Hale was in your way to get back together with your mistress."

"He was in my way." Aro Volturi said, releasing a deep breathe through his mouth. "But not in the way you think he was. I never cared about Lucy. She was only a whore, nothing more."

"Then why," the prosecutor asked. "Then why did you want her back so badly? Why did you follow her traces through three different states?"

Aro put his face in his hands. For a moment it seemed like he was about to start crying now. "Because she took something from me when she left me, something money can't buy. When Lucy turned her back on me, she took my son with her."


	49. Chapter 49

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] Welcome back, my dear readers. Thank you for your great response on the last chapter. I cherish your support so much. It's the reason why I'm still here.

Today's update is dedicated to **Crazy Heart 101** and **Jay aka Jordan**

_****48****_

"Please, stop washing your hands." Bella whispered, hugging Rosalie tightly from behind. "Your hands are already red."

Rose turned off the faucet. She winced when she dried off her hands. They felt sore. A thick layer of lotion would hopefully make the skin smooth again. Why was it so incredibly difficult to overcome this habit?

"I'm sorry." Rosalie mumbled. "All of this is just too much. Do we really have to go through this dinner? I don't feel like celebrating."

"I know." Bella stated. "Esme and Carlisle wanted to cheer us up with that invitation. I know you're exhausted from the day at court. But you need to eat anyway, point. After dessert, we'll leave. I promise."

Bella took Rosalie's red scrubbed hand and lifted it to her lips. "I love you. You need to promise me to talk to your therapist about this washing your hands problem you have."

"I will do that. Oh, Bella, I love you too. How can we pretend that none of this ever happened?"

"Baby steps," Bella told her. "We'll just take one day after the other. You're not alone in this."

A knock on the bathroom door made them turn around. "Are you two done?" Alice asked impatiently. "I need to pee, again."

Rose placed a hand on Alice's shoulder. "Are you okay? You look pale."

"I'm okay. My back is hurting but that's just because we were at court again the entire day. Excuse me, I really need to pee."

Bella and Rosalie walked out, almost bumping against Emmett in front of the door.

"What are you doing here?"

"I plan on posting pictures of peeing women on YouPorn. As my mother was a whore and my father was a mercenary bastard. That would be the perfect new hobby."

"Stop saying stuff like that." Rose snapped. "Dad was your father. Volturi means nothing. Do you hear me, nothing!"

Rosalie's brother shrugged his shoulders. Then he sank down to his knees, lowering his head between them. "Do you think he knew?"

"Who?" Rose asked him, wrapping her arm around Emmett's shoulder. "Who knew what?"

"Dad—who else? Do you think he knew that I wasn't his kid?"

"It doesn't matter anymore. And you were his child, just as much as I or Jasper." Rosalie stated, trying to pull Emmett up again. "He loved you very much. I know he did."

A bitter chuckle left Emmett's mouth. "Isn't it ironic? In a way, it's like history is repeating itself. Dad was not my real Dad. Now, Alice's baby is not mine either."

Alice stepped outside the restroom, her left hand pressed against her lower back. "You don't have to follow me to the restroom. I'm just pregnant, not completely helpless."

"I'm just talking to my sister." Emmett mumbled, reaching his hand out to Alice's to take it into his. "And I can't endure being at that table where everybody stares at me with that pity look."

Rose stood up on her toes and planted a kiss on her brother's cheek. "Ignore them. I do."

They returned back to the table, where the food on the plates had already turned cold.

Bella brushed her fingertips lightly over her daughter's hair before she sat down on the chair next to her. "Why didn't you eat your vegetables?"

"I could be allergic to carrots. Then it would be dangerous for me to eat them. Wouldn't it, Carlisle?"

He looked up and tried to suppress the laughter in his voice when he spoke up. "Yes, you're right about that. Most times carrot allergies go hand in hand with severe ice-cream allergies. Your mother shouldn't allow you to eat that too, just to make sure."

"No, no, I'm fine." Resha mumbled, stuffing a spoonful of carrots between her lips to chew them. "I'm sure it's not that bad with my allergy."

Alice winced when she shifted on her chair. Why was everything she tried to sit on so terribly uncomfortable?

Rosalie sipped on the glass of wine in front of her, enjoying the feeling of warmth it filled her empty stomach with. Maybe she should try to get really drunk. That would help her to forget, even if it was just for a couple of hours.

"They should have given him the death penalty." Jasper stated, grabbing his bottle of beer with so much force that a bit of it, swiped over the sleeve of his shirt. "I can't believe they let Volturi get away with a life sentence."

"We agreed not to talk about it anymore." Rose pleaded. "Killing Volturi wouldn't bring Dad back. It wouldn't bring Mom back. So, where's the point in it?"

Bella put her hand on Rosalie's. "Let's change the subject. I'm very proud to announce that my beautiful girlfriend here is finally going to open her very own garage next Saturday."

Rosalie's mouth curled into a smile, her cheeks tinting with color. "She's right about that. You're all going to come for the opening, right?"

"Sure, we will." Alice stated. "You could check Emmett's jeep out then too. It makes strange noises when you try to go over seventy with it."

"You shouldn't be driving that fast in your condition. Besides, the engine makes these noises, because you don't know how to shift properly." Her boyfriend responded with a grin. Then he cupped her face between his hands and pulled her close to kiss her.

"Ouch! Oh fuck! Damn it!" Alice cried out, cradling her swollen mid-section.

She tried to stand up, only ending up plopping back onto her chair a moment later. Wetness soaked through the fabric of her skirt and trickled down her leg. Great, now I'm already incontinent, she thought. It's so gross. Then the pain in her back ripped through her again, making her barely able to suppress a moan.

"What's wrong with you?" Emmett asked worriedly. "Are you in pain?"

"It's just my back." She whispered. "Maybe we should go home, so that I can lie down. Can you bring me?"

Esme stood up from her chair, rushing towards Alice who was sitting on the other side of the table. She wrapped her fingers around Alice's wrist to check her pulse.

"How long do you have that back pain?" Esme asked. "For a while, I assume?"

"Yes," Alice whimpered. "Since this morning, but it's getting worse."

Esme laughed. "Honey, it's going to get much worse until this baby is born in a few hours."

xxxx

Rosalie brushed her fingers through her damp hair. "Maybe we should try to call Emmett in the hospital again?"

"No, we shouldn't." Bella stated, grabbing the brush from the nightstand. "We'll call in the morning. Now, come and sit with me. I'll do your hair."

She hugged Rose when she sat down on the edge of the bed. "I love you. Never forget that, right?"

"I won't." Rosalie whispered. "Do you think the baby is a boy or a girl? Alice didn't want to tell me."

"You like babies, don't you?" Bella stated, before she carefully started running the brush through the tangles in Rosalie's hair. "Do you want to have one?"

"I just want to be happy with you, Bella." Rose mumbled. "Kiss me,"

"I plan on kissing you very often." Bella said, circling the tip of her forefinger over Rosalie's mouth. "And not only on your pretty mouth,"

Bella put the brush aside and pulled Rosalie into a close embrace. Her lips found Rosalie's, parting them slightly with the tip of her tongue. She felt fire beginning to prickle in her veins as her fingers moved lower, from Rosalie's neck down to her chest.

"Do you remember how I touched you here for the first time?"

"Yes, I do. It was very irritating." Rose whispered, pulling Bella's face close to kiss her mouth again. "I couldn't stop thinking about it. About how good it felt."

She guided Bella's hand under her shirt. "How right,"

"Fuck, Rose. I want you so much. It's been too long."

She cupped the soft flesh of Rosalie's breasts in her hands and massaged them lightly. Rose groaned when she felt Bella rubbing her thumbs teasingly slow over the sensitive tips. Then, Bella lifted the shirt over Rosalie's head. The Blonde sighed when Bella's warm lips closed around a hard nipple. After showering each breast with the same amount of attention, Bella quickly removed her own clothing.

"I want a tattoo." She told Rosalie while her girlfriend moved her hands down Bella's flat stomach. "A tattoo of a rose,"

"I bet that hurts when you get one done." Rose said, lowering her mouth to Bella's belly button. "Where do you want to get it?" she asked, circling her tongue down to Bella's hip to suck the skin there between her teeth. "Here?"

She kissed her way down Bella's thighs, touching their insides very lightly. "Or here? Or…," her hand moved around Bella's waist. "Or on your cute apple ass?"

"I haven't decided on that yet." Bella moaned. "Please, touch me, Rose."

Rosalie's right hand moved between Bella's thighs. She felt her own sex beginning to throb when she reached the wetness on her fingertips. "You're wet."

Gently she started rubbing Bella's outer lips before she focused her attention on Bella's swollen clit. "I love pleasuring you. Does this feel good?" she asked, letting two fingers glide into Bella's pussy.

"Yes," Bella groaned. "Oh yes, it feels so good. Please, don't stop." Bella could feel her stomach muscles beginning to spasm. Her toes curled and she could already sense the beginning of her release building from deep within her.

Rosalie pulled her hand back and Bella whimpered in protest. "Don't stop,"

"So greedy, aren't we?" Rose teased, before she kissed Bella's mouth again. Then, she leaned over and fished the box from underneath the bed. "I want to use that dildo thing on you."

"That's for both of us," Bella moaned, pressing her lips against Rosalie's neck. "But I want to try it too."

She leaned back against the frame of the bed and parted her legs. Her heart was pounding in her chest, when Rose pressed the thick head of the toy against Bella's entrance. Bella's eyes rolled back in her head as she felt how the dildo stretched her.

"Fuck,"

"Too much?" Rose asked, stopping her movements. "Am I hurting you?"

"No," Bella whimpered. "It feels good. Just try going a bit slower. Kay?"

Rosalie nodded her head. She lowered her mouth to Bella's breasts and teased the pink tips, licking and nibbling them gently before she focused her attention on the toy again. Slowly, she pushed it deeper and deeper until Bella groaned it was enough now.

Bella's voice was raspy with arousal when she told Rose to push the other end of the toy inside herself. Their thighs brushed against each other as they tried to hold the toy between their joined bodies. Rosalie rocked her hips forward, feeling the toy glide even deeper inside her. Then Bella repeated the same movement and after a while the two women found a faster, almost staccato-like rhythm. Both of them were covered in sweat when Bella's lower body jerked up, a wave of lust spreading throughout her. A second later, Rosalie's release followed, making her shudder with the unexpected intensity of her climax.

"I love you," Bella panted breathlessly. "I will always love you." She placed the toy on the nightstand and pulled Rosalie against her chest. "You're mine, Beautiful."

"I love you too," Rosalie whispered, snuggling into Bella's arm. She brushed her fingertip over the brunette's lower arm down to Bella's wrist. "This is a nice place for a tattoo. I could get one at the same spot. That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

Bella kissed Rosalie's hair. "You know it's going to hurt, right?"

"If you can do it, Swan, so can I." Rose stated. "I'm tougher than you think I am."

"You're tougher than anyone I've ever met in my life. That's why I love you."


	50. Chapter 50

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] My little Rosella story is coming to an end with this chapter. I want to send out big thanks to all of you, who have been with me from the start. It's so great to have such supportive and loyal readers. I wish I could hug each of you.

What's next for MyTwiDreams? Well, I've gotten a new job and need to handle a dozen things that come with that. I don't deal well with change. It scares me, but I believe that sometimes change can be a good thing. I'm going to take a break from writing for a while. Not long because, let's face it. Writing is what makes me truly happy. I might even give into writing my first OF. You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook to stay informed.

Thank you for reading my stories. It means everything to me to know some people enjoy what I'm writing. I heart you.

_****49****_

"Thanks to all of you for coming." Rose said, lifting her glass of champagne up. "It means a lot to me."

She sipped on the chilled drink and sighed. Everything was going to turn out well. The only thing that bothered her was that Bella had been called to take care of a traffic accident. But that was probably the price you had to pay for dating a cop.

"Can I hold the baby?" Resha asked, tugging on Emmett's sleeve. "I want to hold him."

He shook his head. "Maybe, when he's a bit older, sweetie. Babies are very fragile."

Alice snapped. "He's a baby, not a porcelain doll. Let Resha hold him. Just show her how to hold his head the right way, okay?"

Emmett didn't look very happy when he placed the baby carefully in Resha's arms. "Put your hand under his head. Yes, like this. You need to be careful."

Esme nipped on her champagne. Then she rubbed almost tenderly over the wedding band on her left hand. It was almost like it had never been gone. A smile flashed over her face when she followed her new-old husband outside to enjoy a bit more of the sunny weather.

"Rose, can I come with you and help fixing the cars?" Senna asked, twisting one of her braids around her fingertip. "Rose, you promised, I could help you?"

"Sure, honey, come with me." Rose said, laughing. She placed the empty glass on the table and wiped her hands on her jeans. "I show you how to do an oil change."

She was just about to open the hood of Jasper's car when her cell started beeping. "Hey, Bella," Rosalie greeted her girlfriend. "Don't tell me you're not going to make it at all. Charlie should have gone to handle this accident."

Bella cleared her voice. "Yes, I know. Look, I'm sorry, I missed your opening."

"It's okay." Rose stated. "I understand."

"That's why I love you, Beautiful. Hey, the reason why I'm calling right now. The engine of the car here won't start, no matter how hard we try. Could you come here and tow it off?"

Rosalie promised to be there as soon as possible. She grabbed her own car keys and told the others to help themselves to more champagne while she was gone.

"Can we come with you?" Resha asked. "Senna and I want to come with you, right?"

The smaller girl nodded eagerly, biting her lower lip. "Please, Rosie."

Rose laughed. "Sure, why not. Just tell your parents, you are coming with me, Senna."

"Can't," the girl mumbled. "They are kissing each other outside. Why are they always doing that?"

Rosalie chuckled. "You'll understand that better when you are older, sweetie. Now, put your seatbelts on, you two. Okay?"

"We're not babies, like Georgie." Resha protested. She pressed her mouth against the window and steamed the glass with her breathe. Then she started drawing a flower with her fingertip.

It only took Rosalie a couple of minutes to find the place right outside of town where Bella was already waiting. She was leaning against the hood of a silver-colored car that was more rust than anything. No wonder this thing had broken down mid-road.

Bella fumbled around on her ponytail. "You were fast." She noticed the girls sitting on the backseat. "Why did you bring the girls with you?"

"Because, I have trouble saying no to kids." Rose told Bella before she hugged her and planted a kiss on her lips. "You look so hot in your uniform." She whispered. "I'd love to get arrested by you some time."

Bella laughed. "I think we can arrange something. Now, could you take a look at this car now?"

"Where's the owner?"

A faint hint of pink covered Bella's cheeks when she spoke up again. "Well, she's kind of standing in front of you."

"You bought this piece of junk?" Rose called out. "Are you insane? Who tricked you into that?"

Bella coughed. "I found it at Black's Garage when I went there to talk to him about his son."

"Black! I knew this dog had to do with it. Bella, please, how can you buy anything from that cutthroat?"

Sighing deeply, she walked around the car, letting her fingers glide over the rust-covered hood. It had once been a Mustang. That much she could still see under the countless dents and rust. She opened the hood, trying to take a look at how screwed up the engine was. Jeez, how could Bella buy a car without asking her first?

Then her eyes caught a tiny little scratch on the left side of the oil-smeared engine. She wiped it away, realizing that the scratch was shaped in the form of a little star. Her heart started pounding hectically. She remembered. She could remember how she had scratched the star into the metal a very long time ago. Her father had caught her before she could manage to add her initials inside the star.

"Oh my God." Her voice cracked. "You bought Dad's old Mustang! Oh my God, oh my God. Thank you! I love you so much."

She wrapped her arms around Bella's neck and kissed her beloved girlfriend passionately. "That's the best present anyone has ever made me in my entire life."

Bella smiled against Rosalie's lips. She kissed her again. Then she took Rosalie's hand and sank down on her knees. "I thought about getting you a ring. But then, I found the car and thought you'd like that better."

"Oh Bella," Rosalie whispered, trying to fight back the tears in her eyes. "You don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do." Bella stated, rubbing her thumb over Rosalie's wrist. "I love you very much."

"I love you too." Rose responded. "I love you because you always know what I want most."

Bella smiled and wiped a traitorous tear away from the corner of her eye. "Rosalie Lillian Hale, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Rose nodded her head, unable to bring out a verbal response because her throat felt suddenly a bit too tight to speak. "Yes," she finally whispered. "Yes, I want to marry you."

She pulled Bella up and kissed her, pushing the brunette against the side of the car. This was going to be the best day of her entire life.

A few minutes later Resha was about to lose her patience. "Aren't they done? It's boring out here."

Senna leaned up and peaked through the rear window. "No, they are still kissing."

Resha frowned. "Adults are stupid. All they do is kiss each other. I don't get why."

"My Momma says they do that because it feels nice. Do you want to try it?"

"Kissing? How?"

Senna tugged her feet under her knees and pouted her lips. "First, you have to close your eyes."

The other girl raised her eyebrow. "But how am I supposed to find your mouth when I can't see?"

Senna's forehead wrinkled in concentration. Then she placed her hand on Resha's cheek. She pressed her eyes together and leaned forward. The kiss was quick, merely lasting two seconds.

"How did that feel like?" Resha asked, opening her eyes again. "Did we make it right?"

"I don't know." Senna responded, nibbling on her upper lip. It felt warmer now than before the kiss. It was weird. "What is it supposed to feel like?"

Resha shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what it's supposed to feel like. Let's just play with my Barbie dolls until my mother and Rose are ready to go."

xxxx

Rose felt the water trickling down over her arm when the priest poured it over the baby's head. She smiled so big it was beginning to hurt her ears.

"Isn't my grandson a beautiful boy?" Alice's father asked, taking the screaming infant from Rosalie's arms. "Don't let other kids make fun of you because your name is George. It's the name of a future king."

Zafrina placed her hand on his arm. "He looks like Alice when she was little. Don't you think?"

Emmett wrapped his arms around his petite girlfriend and kissed her neck. "Yes, he does. That probably mean he's not going to be very tall. I need to teach him some karate or other stuff in case the other boys pick on him."

Alice laughed. She laced her fingers with Emmett's and sighed deeply. "Isn't it a lovely day today, Dad?"

Her father frowned. "It could be better."

Zafrina shook her head. "Don't do this George Brandon. I warn you."

He exhaled deeply through his teeth and played with the expensive looking watch around his wrist. "Look, I don't care how you Yankees handle these kinds of situations."

"Dad, stop it." Alice pleaded, taking the baby from her father to rock it against her chest. "You promised not to say anything."

"Don't tell me what to do Mary Alice. See, Emmett, I kind of like you. But where I come from, how I was raised. If you get a girl pregnant, you marry her."

"Dad, you're so old-fashioned," Alice mumbled. "Emmett and I don't need to get married because of the baby."

Emmett coughed nervously. "Well, maybe we should. It seems really important to your father."

"Just because you ask me, doesn't mean I'm going to say yes." Alice teased him. "Excuse me now. I need to feed the baby before my boobs are going to explode."

She walked off, waving her hand at Bella and Rosalie who were standing a bit further away now. "Do you want to have some champagne?" Bella asked, rubbing her fingers over Rosalie's wrist. The tattoo was already beginning to heal.

"No, I'm good." Rose told her. "Let's go outside in the garden. This is an incredible location Alice's father has booked for the baptism."

Bella nodded. "Mr. Brandon is shitty rich, even with all the money he lost with the blown-up deal with Volturi Jewelry."

Rosalie cringed when Bella mentioned Aro Volturi's cover company. "None of them is ever going to set a foot outside the state prison again. That's good, right?"

"It is." Bella assured her. "I'm so proud that you were brave enough to press charges against King. Who knows how many other girls you saved from him?"

Rose shrugged her shoulders. "Let's not talk about him anymore. Today's supposed to be a happy day." Rose stated. "Isn't baby Georgie just adorable?"

Bella hugged her fiancée and pulled her close. Then, they sat down near a little fountain in the hotel garden and kissed Rosalie's hair. "I think you are adorable. This dress you are wearing today makes you look so sexy."

Her hands moved down Rosalie's neck. "I love you. What do you say to March, next year?"

"For the wedding?" Rose asked. "We have time. There's no need to rush anything. I think Emmett wants to get married first, once he brings up the courage to finally ask Alice."

She cupped Bella's face between her hands and caressed her cheeks with her fingertips. "Do you think you can talk Charlie into giving you a day off next week?"

"Do you want to go somewhere?" Bella asked, planting a quick kiss on the tip of Rosalie's nose. "To buy parts for the Mustang again?" During the last weeks, Rosalie had spent every free minute she had with fixing the old car.

Rose shook her head. "No, I made an appointment at the hospital. Carlisle knows this beauty surgeon who claims he can fix my little…snoring problem."

Bella giggled. "I hope that's true." She mumbled. "But like I already told you, I don't mind sleeping with ear plugs."

Rose leaned over and kissed Bella's ear. "I love you for loving me the way I am, flaws included."

Bella took Rosalie's hands and pressed her lips against the pale knuckles. "You're my best friend. I'm such a lucky devil that I've fallen in love with you."

"So am I," Rose whispered. "Now, kiss me. I want to get a kiss from my gorgeous fiancée."

She fisted her hands through the tresses of long brown hair and touched her lips softly against Bella's. Slow at first, tender and careful until both of them couldn't manage to hold back any longer. Their mouth found each other again and again. How long until one of them would manage to pull away from their tight embrace? It didn't matter, because both of them knew they had forever to find out about it…


	51. Chapter 51

[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] This is the promised epilogue for my Rosella fic. I'm still in the middle of moving but I felt so very down without writing anything that I had to squeeze this chapter in for you. Also, thanks to whoever was so nice to nominate this story for Top Ten Favorite Fics finished in September. You can go to fanfictionrecs and vote for me.

Until, next time, my dear readers, I hope you won't forget me.

_****Epilogue****_

"How much longer?" Senna whined while she continued kicking her feet against the closed lid of the toilet. "I bet my scalp is bleeding by now."

Her friend chuckled and checked the time on her watch. "Ten more minutes." She stated. "Let me check. No, I don't see any blood on your head. Is it hurting badly?"

"No," the dainty girl lied, crossing one leg over the other. "I'm fine. Is the time over yet?"

"Almost," Resha promised before she stuck her tongue out at herself in the mirror. Her mother was going to flip once she found out that she had gotten it pierced behind her back.

"Maybe we shouldn't have ditched school again." Senna mumbled. "It's just wrong."

"Don't be a little goose. One missed day won't do any harm." She clicked her pierced tongue against her teeth. Then, she added. "Our parents won't find out. Don't worry."

Senna exhaled through her parted lips. The burning on her head, combined with the sharp stench of chemicals was making her eyes water. Whatever kind of crap Resha's grandmother was mixing into her relaxer, she hated it and cursed every second she had to endure it on her head.

"Five more minutes," Resha announced. "Did you find a dress for prom yet?"

"Yes, but I don't have saved up enough money to buy it. Are you going there? You said no, but maybe you've changed your mind."

Resha stuck her tongue out again, looking at her best friend who was sitting on the edge of the bathtub. "Prom is for nerds. Besides, with whom would I go there?"

A deep sigh escaped Senna's mouth. "A lot of boys have asked you, but you've turned everyone down."

"Is it my fault I only get asked by idiots?" Resha snapped. "Boys are gross. You can see that with that moron whom you call your boyfriend."

"Mike is cute." Senna protested. "He's really nice. I don't know why you can't stand him."

Resha rolled her eyes. Life had been perfect until Senna's boyfriend had managed to ruin the closeness of their friendship. The young woman had never been good at sharing things. She was even worse at sharing someone she cared about.

"I don't know." Resha finally mumbled. "He's just a jerk."

"You really hate boys." Senna responded. "Are you gay like your mother?"

The unpleasant feeling of being caught rippled through Resha. Quickly, she shook her head no before she turned Senna's attention back to her hair again. "I think you can rinse it out now."

Half an hour later when Senna's hair was falling over her shoulders in thick waves, Resha was trying her very best to ignore the fact how pretty her best friend looked. It angered her that Senna was making such an effort to be attractive for her lowlife of a boyfriend. And no, she was not jealous, because that was something for stupid people without any self-esteem.

"Do we want to drive around a bit?" she suggested to Resha. "Jake has fixed the broken bumper again. Now, the car looks as good as new."

Senna nodded. "You need to be more careful while driving. Rosalie is so quirky when it comes to the Mustang."

Resha pinched Senna's cheek. "People who don't have a driver's license don't get to criticize others driving style."

Senna giggled. "I'm a better driver than you'll ever be. Give me your car keys. We're going for a little trip."

Now, Resha knew that it was wrong to let her friend drive. But the two of them had always had trouble saying no to something the other one suggested. So, a couple of minutes later, the girls were already on their way outside of town. Good old Forks, it was such a sleepy place. On their way back, they decided to get some snacks and drinks from the Thriftway. Everything went smoothly until Senna tried to park the car and bumped against the left front light of a shiny new BMW.

"Crap!" Resha called out, unfastening her seatbelt. "Get out of the car before they come back."

Senna felt like her throat was suddenly too tight to breathe. Ditching school was one thing. Driving around without a permit and damaging someone else's car was something way worse. When the owner of the BMW rushed towards them, his head already flaming red in anger, Senna was close to tears.

"I'm so sorry," she stuttered. "I'm so very sorry, Sir."

He walked around the car, eying each inch of his precious car carefully. "This is going to get expensive. The car is only three weeks old. Can I see your papers?"

Resha stepped in front of Senna, placing one hand on the smaller girl's shoulder. "Maybe we can handle this without all this paper crap. My stepmother owns a garage. We could get your car get fixed there for free."

"I won't let any incompetent woman touch my car." He snarled angrily. "Women and cars don't go together well. Now, let me see your papers and then I also insist that we call the police."

There was a fifty percent chance for Resha that the police officer who was going to show up, wasn't going to be her mother. Resha made a secret vow that she was going to babysit Emmett's and Alice's four brats for free for the rest of her life, if only he was going to come and not her mother. Unfortunately, she wasn't so lucky.

Bella's voice stayed smooth and friendly the entire time she spoke to the agitated man. She promised him that everything was going to be taken care of. Then she drove Senna back to her house. The girl was glad, that both of her parents were still at the local hospital where her father had taken on a job as an orthopedic surgeon a few years ago. Still, Senna was sure that Bella was going to tell them that she had ditched. Also, that she and Resha had been in an accident. It was just wrong that Resha was telling people she had been driving, when in truth everything was her fault.

Resha counted the seconds in her head when she was eventually alone with her mother in the cruiser. Hell was going to break loose. That much was sure.

"So," Bella stated, the tone of her voice changed from friendly to harshly within seconds. "What do you have to say?"

"What do you want to hear?" Resha murmured. "I'm not a very good driver."

"You are not supposed to drive around at school time. How are you supposed to graduate when you ditch so often? What kind of job are you going to get without a High school graduation?"

"Mom, just chill a bit. I have two more years of school left."

"That is if they don't kick you out before." Bella stated. "Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was for me right now? I'm the chief of police here for fucks sake. People look at us."

"You could have said no, when grandpa offered the job to you." Resha responded. "And I'm sorry you are ashamed of me."

"Don't talk back to me now!" Bella yelled, while she parked the cruiser in front of her house. "You are grounded. For the next four weeks. Now, get inside and straight to your room. We'll talk again, when I come home tonight."

Resha swallowed back some tears. She slammed the passenger's door a bit too hard and rushed inside the house. There was nothing she hated more than having her mother being mad at her. Well, maybe apart from having Senna being mad at her. This rarely happened though.

Lying on the couch, Rosalie looked up. "What are you doing here yet?"

"I'm in my room." Resha sobbed, wiping a trail of smeared mascara from her cheek. "Until I'm finally old enough to move out here,"

Slowly, because her heavily pregnant body didn't allow anything else, Rosalie rose from the couch. "Come sit with me. It can be that bad."

Resha leaned her face against Rosalie's shoulder and cried. "Mom is so mad at me."

"Why, this time?"

"Because, Senna and I were ditching." The girl confessed. "And we kind of had a little accident with the Mustang. It's nothing bad, I swear. But the idiot insisted on calling the cops on us."

Rose sighed and caressed the crying girl's head. "It's not that bad. I'll call Jake. He can take a look at the car. Are you grounded?"

"Of course, I'm grounded. I'm always grounded. It's like I'm a fucking prisoner in this house."

Rosalie laughed. "That's nonsense and you know it. Your mother only has your best interest in mind. She worries about you because you're a bit of a wild girl."

Resha clicked her tongue, flashing the piercing to Rosalie's eyes for just a split second. It was long enough for the Blonde to notice it.

"A piercing? Does Bella know about that?"

"Not yet. You're not going to tell her. Are you?"

Rosalie cradled her swollen midsection and nodded her head. "My lips are sealed. Now, why have you been ditching again? Bella and I have told you, it needs to stop."

Resha crossed her arms in front of her chest. "School sucks."

"School is important, whether it may suck or not."

Resha's face turned into a frown. She swallowed back another comment about what a waste of time school was. School where she had to endure seeing Senna suck faces with this joke of a boyfriend between classes. No, she was not jealous. It was just…did they have to share their relationship with the entire fucking school population?

"What are you thinking about?" Rose asked. "Is something bothering you?"

"No," Resha whispered. The cat jumped on her lap and rubbed his face against her stomach, leaving brown hairs all over her white shirt. "Do you think Senna is serious about butthead? I can't stand him."

"You are so jealous. It's cute." Rosalie stated, a smile flashing over her round face. "Are you in love with her?"

"Me? In love with Senna?" Resha asked back, petting Baby T's soft fur. "I'm not gay."

"Good, if you say so. Or maybe you're just afraid to admit how you truly feel because she has a boyfriend."

Resha's face turned crimson. "I'll go to my room now. Try to rest some more. You know, what the doctors have told you."

Rosalie had already drifted back into a deep sleep when Bella opened the door and tiptoed into the living room. She leaned over her sleeping wife and pressed a kiss on Rosalie's mouth.

"Hi," Rose whispered, blinking through her eyelashes. "You're home."

"I'm sorry it's gotten so late again." Bella apologized. "Your brother made some terrible mess in our computer system and I had to get that fixed again."

"It's okay." Rosalie mumbled, rubbing her tired eyes. "I've been sleeping most of the day anyway."

Bella placed her hand on Rosalie's abdomen. She smiled when she felt the baby kick against her palm. "How's he doing?"

"He has it warm and cozy." Rose chuckled. "It's me who can't wait for this pregnancy to finally be over. I feel like a whale."

Bella lifted Rosalie's shirt a bit up to kiss the skin underneath her bellybutton. "You're not that big. Despite, the bigger you get, the more there is of you for me to love."

Rose smiled. She cupped Bella's face between her hands and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too. Have you spoken to our daughter yet? She smashed the car again. Resha's the worst driver I know. At least, this time, the Mustang survived it without any severe damage."

"I'm sure, she she's already sorry about everything. Please, try not to be so strict to her all the time."

Bella sighed deeply and rested her head against Rosalie's round stomach. "They say boys are more difficult. The next eighteen years should be interesting for all of us."

xxxx

The next day at school, Senna was sitting across the guidance counselor's crowded desk and starred down at her hands. Her class teacher had insisted she talked to Alice Hale. How embarrassing could things get?

Alice sighed and nipped on her tea. Tea was usually helping her with her morning sickness. Still, this was definitely going to be her last child. Hadn't she already vowed this after the last kid and that one before?

"How long do I have to stay in your office?" Senna asked, nibbling on her fingernails. "I don't have any mental problems."

"That's very fortunate for you." Alice stated. "It's always good to know someone is in their right mind. Now, tell me, why you ditched classes again yesterday?"

"What does it matter?" Senna responded. "It won't happen again."

"You and Swan said that the last four times. Ditching school will get you into trouble. You're a smart girl Senna. So, why are you doing something so stupid?"

Senna shrugged her shoulder. "I don't know? Maybe, it's because I'm not that smart?"

Alice sipped on her tea again. "You can tell me when something is bothering you. It won't leave this room. Is someone bullying you?"

"What? No, of course not, I like school. I like the people in my class. What I don't like is spending time with my boyfriend and my best friend at the same time. They both hate each other."

Alice scrawled down a note on a post-it. Talk Emmett into finally getting this stupid vasectomy- she wrote, finishing it with three exclamation marks.

"Resha Swan is your best friend, right?"

"Yes, Mrs. Hale."

"You can call me Alice. Look, Senna. Sometimes it really helps when you speak to someone about what's going on inside you head."

Senna nodded. "I feel stupid. I love them both. Not in the same way of course….well, in a way, I do love both of them the same way. Crap, that doesn't make any sense."

Alice chewed on the end of her pencil. "Does Resha know that you have feelings for her?"

"No, of course not," Senna told Alice quickly. "She's not into girls. I've asked her, but she said no."

Alice checked the time on her watch. "You should still tell her how you feel. Consider speaking to your boyfriend too. He has a right to know that you're having doubts about the relationship."

Senna shrugged her shoulders and mumbled a goodbye to Alice. Then she went down the corridor towards the cafeteria. She didn't feel much like eating.

"There you are," Mike greeted her, wrapping his arms around her. She held completely still while he kissed her. The problem with him kissing her was that Senna never exactly knew how she was supposed to feel like. Maybe this meant that something was wrong with her.

"Don't drown her in your slobber, asshole." Resha snapped, ruining the romantic encounter of the couple. "Senna, baby, I saved you some turkey-sandwiches. It's the only thing in this place that is halfway eatable."

"Thanks," Senna mumbled, sitting down next to her best friend. "I'm not hungry."

"Oh honey, you need to eat. Do you want to share some hotdog with me?" Mike purred, licking Senna's ear like a lost puppy.

"She hates hotdogs." Resha told him, rolling her eyes. "You should know that by now."

Mike frowned. Then he focused his attention back on his girlfriend again. He caressed Senna's hair. The girl jumped from her chair. "Don't. Touch. My. Hair. I can't stand that."

"Why are you so bitchy?" Mike asked. "Are you on your period again?"

"No, I'm not on my period." Senna mumbled. "I just want you to leave me alone."

"It's because of your stupid friend here, isn't it? You two are some fucking dykes and you don't even know it yet. What a waste of time."

The girls didn't have any chance to further discuss their gayness or non-gayness any further doing the school day. Afterwards Bella picked Resha up and made sure her daughter spent her entire afternoon insider her room, without her phone and her laptop.

It was about to get dark outside when the doorbell announced an unexpected visitor. "Hi, Bella." Senna greeted her best friend's mother. "Can I come in?"

"Hello Senna, I'm sure Resha has already told you that she's grounded."

Senna sucked her lower lip between her teeth. "That's actually the reason why I'm here. Look, Bella, you can't punish her for something that has been my fault."

"Your fault?"

The girl took a deep breathe. "I was the one who damaged the BMW. Not her. She was just trying to keep me out of trouble."

Bella crossed her arms in front of her chest. She straightened her back like she always did it when she was talking to someone she was about to arrest. "You've been driving without a permit? Do you know in what kind of trouble this could get you?"

"I know." Senna whispered. "But I felt so bad to know you've grounded Resha when all she did was trying to protect me."

Bella sighed and leaned her right hand against the door frame. "I have to tell your parents about this. It's their decision how they want to punish you for this stunt you pulled."

"Yes, Bella. I'm really sorry, Bella. Can I go to Resha for a minute? It's important."

Bella waved her hand towards the stairs. "Stop getting each other into trouble. Now, go and tell her that she's ungrounded again."

Senna rushed up the stairs, almost stumbling over her untied shoe laces. Bella stared after her and shook her head. Then she went to the kitchen and poured a glass of milk for Rosalie. She grabbed a box of Oreo cookies and headed back into the living room.

"You brought me cookies." Rosalie laughed. "That's why I love you. Come bring them here. I'm starving."

Bella sat down next to Rose and dipped one of the cookies into the milk. "One for the baby." She fed the cookie to Rosalie before grabbing a second one. "One for the stressed Co-Mommy."

Rosalie chewed slowly. "You need to relax. Everything is going to be okay."

"Can you guarantee that? I don't think so." Bella stated, stuffing another cookie between her lips. "Resha's driving me insane. She's been terrible since she entered puberty. Did you see, she got her tongue pierced? Like I'm old and blind and wouldn't notice it."

"You haven't said anything about it."

"Would that close the hole in her tongue again? I don't mind that she got a piercing. What I mind is that she's got it behind my back."

Rose licked some cookie crumbles from her lips. "You two are so very much alike. Both of you are stubborn."

Bella protested. "I'm not stubborn. Jeez, why is it taking Senna so long to talk to Resha? Do you think they're smoking in her room again or something like that?"

Rose reached for the box of cookies. "I don't think so. Maybe they just need some privacy."

"Privacy?" Bella asked, leaning closer to Rose. "Did I miss something?"

"Sometimes, people just need privacy." Rose responded. "You and I always like to have some privacy now and then. Don't we?" she asked, pressing her lips tenderly against Bella's.

Upstairs in Resha's bedroom Senna was sitting next to her best friend on the bed. She licked her lips again and again, while she felt her palms beginning to sweat. "So, Mike and I broke up, I think."

"You think?" Resha asked, snuggling her pillow against her chest.

"I don't know how to break up with someone. I don't know if I want to break up with him. He's just…annoying sometimes. Like, he can never stop fumbling on my hair, although I hate it."

"Do you love him?"

"I think so." Senna answered.

"You think so, but you don't know for sure." Resha stated. "Does he make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Does your heart make backflips in your chest when you look at him?"

Senna closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, it's not like that. But love is not supposed to be like that. It's only that way in movies."

Resha took a deep breathe. She knew that crossing the delicate line between friendship and love was a dangerous thing to do. "Can I kiss you? I just want to know what it's going to feel like with the piercing. You don't mind being my guinea pig?"

Well, like it has been said before Senna Cullen always had problems saying no to something her best friend suggested to her…


End file.
